Hot For Teacher
by kerrymarisas
Summary: 36 year old Olivia Pope is raising her six year old daughter, Dawson on her own. Olivia harbors resentment and is still hurt from her marriage to Edison Davis, however when Olivia meets her daughter's new kindergarten teacher, Fitzgerald Grant, things begin to look up for her romantically. But with Edison's return to Olivia and Dawson's life, is there any room for Fitz?
1. Questions & The New Teacher

"Dawson Carolyn Pope! That is too much syrup!" Olivia Pope snapped at her daughter, looking up from her bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, she noticed her six-year old squeezing the bottle of syrup so hard that the woman's face displayed on the bottle appeared scrunched. Dawson jumped, apparently surprised that her mother had looked up from the lengthy acquisition she was rereading.

"They're dry," Dawson complained in her small high-pitched voice, staring pointedly at her cut up pancakes. Olivia raised an eyebrow and glanced at the clock on the stove.

"You have ten minutes to eat, c'mon Daws." Olivia said, in a softer tone this time. Dawson poked out her lip and began pushing the pieces of pancake around her plate, finally she dropped her fork and picked up her plastic cup full of milk. She took a sip and sat the cup down, looking at her mother thoughtfully.

"Mommy?"

"Huh?" Olivia asked, carefully highlighting a section of questionable language, then looking back up at her daughter. Dawson was examining her mother carefully; Olivia knew this look- Dawson was about to open a can of worms- which can of worms it would be remained to be seen.

"Why doesn't Daddy live with us anymore?"

Olivia closed her eyes tightly and looked down. So it would be _the_ can of worms. Of course.

Olivia set down the stack of papers she was holding and cleared her throat. Last time Dawson had asked about her Daddy, Olivia had very little she was willing to say. There honestly wasn't much age-appropriate material she could share. Dawson had always been curious. So, when she was four, Olivia told her the story about when she was still pregnant with her. Olivia and her then-husband, Edison were trying to come up with a suitable baby name for their daughter- they'd just been informed of the gender. Olivia had never been the type to set aside a special list of names for her children, but she did know that she wanted her daughter to have a name that would be special. Edison threw around boring names, then he threw around names so outlandish, just to establish a frame of reference. Finally, Edison proposed the name 'Dawson' – his great-grandmother maiden name. Olivia wasn't sold on the name. But- as soon as she was born, and Olivia looked at her big brown eyes, Olivia had no doubt that she was meant to be a Dawson.

That was just about the most perfect story any single parent could have as an explanation. Especially to a feisty and persistent four-year old.

But this question?

Olivia wasn't entirely prepared. She could not make the story pretty, or neat or nice. She either had to tell her daughter the truth, and shatter her faith in all men at age six, or lie.

"Daddy and Mommy had a fight. And we agreed that it was best for us to live apart." Olivia said slowly, trying to make the words come out naturally.

Dawson blinked and grabbed hold of one of her puff balls, they were huge, and were barely able to be contained by normal ponytail holders, so Olivia had to be resourceful- a month ago she'd went to the store and got a huge container of ballies; they did the trick. Dawson twisted her puff in her small hand, her other arm cradled her face.

Olivia was crestfallen- oh how she looked like her father. Most of the time- thank goodness, she looked like Olivia. She had Olivia's natural confidence, Olivia's quickness. Her eyes were big and brown, framed by thick and uncontrollable eyelashes, and her skin was a creamy, even shade of brown. Even at six, she was the shortest girl in her class, also like her mother. What Dawson lacked in size, she made up for in personality- like Olivia.

However, it was times like these, when Olivia least expected it- that Edison would be sitting at the table with her. His examining gaze taking away any warmth in the room.

But, of course this wasn't precisely the case when Dawson wore the expression. She was a child. An absolute baby, and even if she was quicker on her feet than most six year olds, she'd never look at Olivia in any other way save for adoration.

"So where does Daddy live?" Dawson pressed, her expression softening.

Olivia checked the clock; 7:55. Dawson's school started at 8:30, and Olivia had to be to work by 8:45, 9:00 at the latest.

"We'll talk about this in the car, okay? Mommy needs to make her tea, and you need to go get your backpack and shoes on." Dawson slid out of her chair and slowly left the kitchen, Olivia heard her bare feet slapping against the wood stairs and exhaled in relief, beginning to clear the breakfast dishes as she put the teapot on and readied her mug.

"Mommy! Am I wearing the blue flats or my snappy snazzy ones?" Olivia squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remember the shoes her daughter was speaking of.

"Um, Lovie you're wearing purple. So no blue shoes. Try the black flats."

Olivia yelled back, emptying Dawson's barely touched pancakes into the garbage disposal. She turned around for her cup and found her milk to be barely touched as well. Olivia shook her head; these days Dawson barely ate anything that wasn't drenched in syrup, cheese or ketchup. She pulled a PediaSure and Dawson's lunch out from the fridge and checked the clock; 7:59.

"Lovie! We have to go!" Olivia called, wiping down the table and replacing the placemats.

"Sweater or no sweater?" Dawson called back. Olivia rolled her eyes. Her daughter was a piece of work. Of course she came down to breakfast barely dressed, so that she could take every second of time that they needed to account for traffic.

"Dawson, grab a sweater and come down here please. Make sure you have your schoolbag." Olivia poured hot water into her mug, already waiting with two bags of green tea. She took two packets of honey and shook them, preparing to pour them in. She wanted to let the tea steep, but she was getting jittery; it took seventeen minutes exactly to get Dawson to school, and she had to go back across the city to her office.

"Dawson!" Olivia called, just as Dawson hopped down the stairs, dressed in a completely different outfit. She'd gone up in a purple tunic with gray tights, but was now dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, her crème sweater and army green jacket. Instead of the flats they'd been debating, Dawson had pulled on her smaller version of Olivia's brown shoe boots. Olivia crossed her arms.

"Seriously? Lovie, you changed your whole outfit." Dawson nodded, turning around at the landing of the stairs.

"Do you like?"

Olivia pursed her lips, trying not to smile. "Yes, Dawson I like. I bought you those clothes."

"Nuh-uh! Pop-Pop bought me these jeans." Olivia grinned despite herself.

"Okay, Miss Nuh-uh. Where's your schoolbag?" Dawson made her oops face and launched back up the stairs. Olivia said a Hail Mary for her own sake as she returned to the kitchen, emptying the honey packets and stirring the tea quickly before sealing the mug.

Olivia gathered the documents she'd been examining at breakfast and shoved them in her file folder, then into her briefcase. She took her pea coat and crossed the room to stand at the door, tapping her stiletto-clad foot. She checked her watch and almost swore- 8:05.  
"Dawson! This is not a game you are going to be late for school again!" Dawson hopped, once again, down the staircase and onto the landing of the stairs, her tan leather backpack strapped to her back.

"I'm ready, Mommy. Take a chill pill." Olivia laughed, incredulous.

"Who taught you chill pill?"

"Cousin Austin," Dawson shrugged. Olivia shook her head, thinking of her best friend Abby's son- Austin.

Dawson hung on to the straps of her bookbag. As Olivia locked up the house, she noticed Dawson bouncing, and grinned. She didn't even try to deny it anymore- her six-year old was the love of her life. Dawson took Olivia's hand as they walked the path toward the driveway. Dawson was in love with her backpack, Olivia noticed. Her father, Eli had bought Dawson yet another thing she didn't need- Dawson had more clothes, shoes, toys and stuff than any six-year old Olivia knew. Dawson was now a hipster-baby. Thanks to the combined efforts of her family and friends. Olivia pressed the unlock symbol on her car key. Dawson pulled the back door open and hopped up onto her car seat.

"Lovie, take your bookbag off," Olivia said, trying to avoid thinking about what time it was. Dawson shimmied out of her bag and tried to buckle herself up, but Olivia always did it for her- and checked it twice. She could never drive without making sure Dawson was secure in her seat. Olivia pulled at her lap-band and nodded, kissing her daughter on her cheek. Dawson grinned as Olivia threw her briefcase in the passenger side and lowered herself in the car, pressing the button to start the engine. Olivia quickly navigated off of their street and toward Dawson's school.

"So finish telling me about Daddy."

Dawson said, crossing her leg. Olivia looked at her in her mirror and smiled at her crossed leg.

"Daddy lives lots of places. He moves a lot for his job." Dawson crossed her arms.

"You didn't wanna move with him?" She asked, leaning over to push her small hand to her cheek.

"It's not that simple, Lovie." Olivia said slowly, mentally thanking whomever that there was little traffic on their route so far.

"Okay." Dawson said. Olivia bit her lip; she had learned enough to know that, just like her mother, _it_ whatever _it_ was, was absolutely not okay. Olivia wasn't answering Dawson's questions to her liking, clearly.

"How's school been, Lovie?" Olivia asked, trying to get Dawson talking. They were nearly at her school now, less than five minutes away. Olivia checked the clock on her radio; 8:18. They were making great time.

"My teacher's nice. I guess. He's really tall. And he doesn't shout like Ms. Merrymade did." Olivia pulled into her daughter's school parking lot.

"He?" Olivia asked, putting the car in park and turning to face her daughter.

"What happened to Ms. Merrymade?" Dawson uncrossed her legs.

"She moved. That's what Mr. Grant said. That she moved and that he was our teacher for the rest of the year."

Olivia raised an eyebrow.

"Okay. That's interesting." Olivia said, unbuckling her seatbelt and exiting the car. Dawson squirmed as Olivia unbuckled her car seat. Olivia carried her schoolbag in one hand and took her daughter's hand in the other.

"Are you coming to meet Mr. Grant, Mommy?"

"Yep, Lovie, I have a little time this morning. See what happens when you're early?" Dawson giggled and skipped, jiggling Olivia's arm. They entered the school, and made their way to the main office.

"Hello, Ms. Pope."

Ms. Hendricks, the secretary greeted. "You want me to take Dawson back today?"

Olivia shook her head. "Not today, Ms. Hendricks, I've got some time this morning. I wanted to meet Dawson's new teacher. When did that happen by the way?" Ms. Hendricks leaned over scandalously.

"It's the most exciting thing- Ms. Merrymade met a fella on one of those dating sites for older singles. And she up and moved to the Côte d'Azur- ver-y fancy I hear. So cute! We were lucky to find Mr. Grant. His son is in his class. And he's just recently decided to start teaching again." Olivia laughed at the gossipy Ms. Hendricks.

"Well thanks for the scoop. I better get Dawson to class. See you tomorrow!" Olivia and Dawson set off down the hallway, displays of art projects and colorful bulletin boards lined the hallways. Olivia swung their arms, to get Dawson out of her mood- the mood she always had when Olivia personally walked her to class. Dawson was a pro if Ms. Hendricks or one of the other secretaries walked her to class, but she hated leaving Olivia at her classroom door. It was always a hard separation, no matter what Olivia did.

They arrived outside of Dawson's classroom. Olivia knelt down and hugged her daughter.

"What does Mommy say?"

Olivia asked Dawson as her chin wobbled, a clear sign that she was going to cry.

Dawson grinned, showing her missing tooth.

"Never let 'em see you sweat."

"Or…?" Olivia prompted.

"Or cry. I know Mommy." Olivia smiled and kissed Dawson on her small nose.

"I know you know, Lovie. Let's get in there." Olivia stood and took Dawson's hand. Dawson pulled open the classroom door with her other hand as they stepped inside.

"Hey Dawson! How're you today?" A tall, handsome and well-dressed man met Dawson at her eye-level- an absolute challenge and greeted her.

Dawson smiled. "I'm good, Mr. Grant, this is my Mommy, she came to meet you."

Mr. Grant smiled warmly at Dawson and returned to his height, taking Dawson's mother in. Of course, to Mr. Grant that was easier said than done. To take her in meant to absorb the sight of her high cheekbones, her even, gorgeous skin, her large doe-like eyes and her pink lips. Her body was another story- accentuated by the form-fitting gray dress, with the matching suit jacket. Her legs were long, despite her small stature, and her six-inch heels were probably more alluring than she meant them to be. Mr. Grant recovered from his completely un-innocent examination of Dawson's mother and smiled, extending his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs-"

He snuck a glance at her ring finger, only to find it empty.

"Ms. Pope. Olivia Pope."

"Nice to meet you Olivia Pope. I'm Fitzgerald Grant."

Olivia smiled and lingered on Fitzgerald's face longer than was appropriate. She snapped away from his blue eyes and leaned down to Dawson.

"Lovie, I've got to go, I'll be late for work. Have a good day, okay? I love you." Olivia wrapped her arms around Dawson and squeezed, kissing her on the cheek before standing up again.

"Dawson you can go hang your coat and bag up at your cubby. Class is going to start soon."

Dawson nodded and hugged Olivia around her waist before slowly trudging off to the cubbies.

"She's great- Dawson. I've only been here a week and she's the only kid who kinda makes me sweat." Olivia grinned, admiring her daughter from afar.

"Yeah, I've definitely taught her well."

Fitzgerald laughed shortly.

Olivia checked her watch and began walking to the door, Fitzgerald followed her.

"Thanks for coming in. And have a good day." Fitzgerald said, extending his hand again. Olivia took it, warmth spreading through her body, once again. She'd been able to ignore it the first time in the presence of her daughter.

"You too, Fitzgerald."

He smiled again, his eyes sparkling, almost enchanting Olivia.

"Fitz," He said to Olivia as she pushed open the door. Olivia turned.

"Huh?" She asked.

"Fitz, call me Fitz." Olivia cleared her throat.

"Bye, Fitzgerald." Olivia let herself out of the classroom, quickly hurrying down the hall.

Talk about hot for teacher.


	2. Dinner Dates & Play Dates

Later that night, Dawson was animated about her day at school. She just _had_ to tell Olivia about each and every thing that they'd done, and she mentioned Mr. Grant in almost every sentence. Olivia, however, had a busy day at work and had a number of annoying problems come up; she had two meetings, back to back, and the clients weren't quite confident about Olivia's course of action regarding a deal.

Olivia hated to be doubted in any capacity, but she'd personally reviewed the documents associated with the account; she'd made no error in her decisions. But, of course, Olivia wanted to appease her client, so instead of taking her daughter to her ballet lesson, she had to ask her father to pick Dawson up from school at 3:00 and take her. Olivia wanted to make the night special, because she felt incredibly guilty about missing yet another of Dawson's lessons.

Instead of the dinner of spaghetti Olivia had planned to make, she took Dawson out to Carmine's- a place Dawson seemed to love just as much as their home- for some of Dawson's favorite ravioli. Dawson skipped beside Olivia, who strode in her six inch heels toward the restaurant. Olivia thought that they must have looked funny- such different ends of the spectrum. Olivia looked professional, almost severe- while Dawson was an adorable sight in her ballet practice outfit; her black leotard, pink skirt, pale stockings and pink ballet shoes. Her puffy parka was pulled haphazardly over the ensemble- Olivia was always vigilant about the weather, and that evening was particularly chilly. Olivia didn't want for Dawson to make a habit out of wearing her ballet slippers outside of her lessons, but she was always so excited to wear them that Olivia often allowed it.

Olivia had to admit to herself that she hadn't envisioned being the mother of a six-year old- ever. She loved Dawson more than what she could have ever fathomed, however, if she was being honest with herself, Dawson was a mistake. Olivia wouldn't have wanted children with Edison; he was controlling, neurotic and had an overinflated sense of importance about himself. It hurt to even allow herself to think about the precious human singing softly to herself as she purposefully avoided the cracks in the road- as to not break Olivia's back. Olivia's entire life was defined by Dawson, insomuch as she unconsciously divided the parts in her life as 'Before Dawson' and 'After Dawson.' Dawson was her everything, and _that_ was not a mistake.

Thinking about Edison made Olivia angry. Really the only reason she was thankful for his existence was because he gave her Dawson. That was his only purpose in life, in her life anyway.

She wanted to tell Dawson only good things about her Dad- when it was time.

She looked at Dawson's constant leaping, skipping and scrambling, and couldn't imagine dimming that spirit. Was she supposed to tell her baby girl that her father had practically rejected her the moment she was born? That he chose a job over her? That he often claimed he would visit Dawson, but never showed up? Olivia remembered when Dawson was turning two, and Edison called out of the blue and asked to take Dawson to the zoo to celebrate. Olivia was skeptical- she always was when it came to Edison, but she couldn't keep him from seeing Dawson if he wanted to. So, Olivia reluctantly got Dawson dressed in one of her best dresses and pulled her pillow soft hair into puff balls, and waited for Edison to pick her up. He never came.

Olivia couldn't comprehend how Edison could reject his own daughter the way he had. It wasn't her job to comprehend- she'd realized that a long time ago. Edison operated in the best way he saw fit, and he only thought about himself. Dawson didn't need him to be amazing and beautiful- she was doing just fine.

They were seated in Carmine's- Dawson was so tiny, Olivia often worried that she would slide out of the high chairs the restaurant offered, she requested a baby seat for her, and watched her daughter's tiny legs swinging inches above the ground.

Dawson read the menu with expertise, pausing only to ask Olivia a certain word-

"Prosciutto." Olivia answered calmly, as Dawson pointed impatiently to the word.

"Lovie, why not just get ravioli. Okay?" Dawson thought for a moment, pressing her small hand to cup her cheek- this was her default pose.

"Mhkay," Dawson finally answered, putting her menu down and sipping her juice that had just arrived.

"Can I see that please?" Olivia asked of Dawson's apple juice. Dawson pushed out her lower lip automatically, knowing what her mother was doing. Olivia took the cup and pulled the lid off, pouring half of the apple juice into an empty cup, and pouring in water as a replacement. Dawson continued to pout as Olivia mixed up the juice and water combination.

"Here you go, Lovie," Olivia cooed, guilt once again sweeping over her as she took in her daughter's face. Maybe Olivia was too strict with her food and health rules, but Dawson wasn't old enough to handle how much sugar was in that apple juice. Dawson had seemed to forget about her watered down apple juice by the time their food arrived.

But before Dawson could even dig into her food, she dropped her fork and perked up, making the hilarious face she only made on holidays and when she was surprised (although she usually found a reason to be surprised). Olivia discovered that it was the latter as Dawson clapped excitedly,

"Mr. Grant! Teddy!" Olivia turned in the direction that her daughter was squealing and recognized her daughter's teacher- the handsome Mr. Grant, who was wrangling a small boy; the boy seemed to want to jump into Dawson's chair, but Mr. Grant had him firmly by the waist, trying to calm the boy's excitement.

"Mommy, Mommy. Can I get out? Pleaseeeeee?" Olivia jumped up automatically, not wanting Dawson to hurt herself, she was squirming like crazy, and she was up too high to make a jump that Olivia was comfortable with.

"Hold on babe," Olivia called as she began to undo the baby seat that Dawson was strapped in. Dawson tried to make a jump for it as soon as she was free, but Olivia pulled her up by her armpits into her arms, as Dawson settled into a comfortable position on Olivia's hip.

Olivia walked them over to where Mr. Grant was still wrestling with his son. Finally, Mr. Grant managed to coax him into being picked up. As soon as Teddy and Dawson were at a suitable eye level, and were speaking in small sentences to each other, Olivia and Mr. Grant relaxed. Olivia tried to avoid his eyes, but it was impossible, as Teddy and Dawson reached out to hold each other's hands, swinging their intertwined arms back and forth.

Olivia chuckled shortly, meeting his eyes as he spoke.

"Looks like they're having a good time." Mr. Grant observed, smiling wryly.

Olivia agreed.

"Yeah, it does. Are they fast friends or am I just out of the loop?" Mr. Grant's smile widened as he watched their children play together so effortlessly; Dawson was smoothing Teddy's wayward chestnut brown hair.

"They're very friendly. I hadn't realized that they were this close but kids have their own language we can't even begin to understand." Mr. Grant announced seriously. Olivia raised an eyebrow.

"You mean baby talk?" Olivia inquired.

"Listen." Mr. Grant motioned to the kids.

Olivia turned her attention back to Teddy and Dawson as they seemed to babble incessantly. Olivia was taken aback; Dawson hadn't spoken like that since she was a toddler. She and Teddy seemed to be having an enjoyable conversation that neither she nor Mr. Grant could understand.

"Wow," Olivia replied, impressed.

Mr. Grant shrugged. "I spend my entire day with five and six-year olds. It comes with the territory."

Olivia laughed lightly and turned back to Dawson.

"Lovie, you ready to finish eating? You need to say bye to Teddy and Mr. Grant."

"Fitz," Mr. Grant corrected, grinning. Olivia rolled her eyes playfully, a smile pushing its way onto her lips.

"Say bye," Olivia requested as Dawson's face crumbled, and she looked at Teddy- who had begun to do the same.

"I don't wanna say bye, Mommy. I want Teddy."

"Don't start this, Daws. You'll see Teddy tomorrow, okay? It's only one sleep until you'll see him." Dawson shook her head hard and tried to make a break for it, but Olivia held on tight.

Olivia looked at Mr. Grant with pleading eyes, but he too was trying to regain control over his child, they were a tangled mess as Teddy simply fell backward in his arms, refusing to move, he hung there limply as he cried still, his face turning a beet red.

"Why don't we just eat together?" He suggested, as Dawson wailed; Olivia was trying to return Dawson to her hip, but like Teddy, Dawson was slumped over, in such a way that Olivia had to hold her baby-doll style just to prevent from dropping her.

"That's- that's fine." Olivia replied, irritated that Dawson was making such a scene. She hated to reward her after she'd just had such an outlandish tantrum, but she saw no other way to stop it, short of leaving the restaurant altogether.

"We hadn't ordered yet," Mr. Grant explained, carrying Teddy over to the table and sitting down in one of the four chairs with Teddy on his lap. Teddy perked up as he saw Dawson being strapped in her baby seat. Dawson beamed over at Teddy happily, tears streaked her face, as she began eating her ravioli again.

When the server appeared next, Mr. Grant ordered chicken parmesan for himself and spaghetti with meatballs for Teddy, along with a baby chair so that Teddy and Dawson could sit next to each other.

"As long as they're happy, right?" He motioned to their kids who were both swaying side to side as they shared Dawson's ravioli, Dawson then reached for Teddy's hand. Olivia grinned.

"Yeah. I'm surprised, Dawson never throws tantrums like that." Mr. Grant laughed good-naturedly, as he met Olivia's eyes. Olivia tried hard to focus on her chicken pesto pasta, but his eyes were hard to ignore. They were a steel blue, deliberate and twinkling.

"Would you like me to call you Mrs. Pope or is Olivia okay?"

Olivia blinked, feeling her face heating.

" _Ms. Pope._ And that won't be necessary. Olivia is okay. Our children are best friends, after all." He nodded.

"So that means you'll call me Fitz?" Olivia grinned, seeing what he'd done.

"Yes, I'll call you Fitz. No problem."

"Good."

Olivia tried not to blush at his insistent eye contact, but she had no choice. His stare was intense, but thankfully, Dawson saved her.

"Mommy."

Olivia turned immediately, as Teddy watched Olivia with wondering eyes.

"Can Teddy come over to play today?"

"No, Lovie, you have bedtime when we get home. You'll see Teddy tomorrow." Dawson pouted, but didn't argue.

Olivia turned back to Fitz, who seemed to have an idea brewing.

"Why don't we set up a playdate for them? Would tomorrow work for you?"

Olivia pulled up their schedule in her head; she didn't want to be monster Mommy, she wanted to make a playdate for Dawson and Teddy happen.

"Hm. No. Daws has ballet three times a week, and I chose Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week. She's done around 5:30, if that works? She'll be pretty tired but…"

"Actually, it would have to be right after school tomorrow, Teddy has swimming on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and he's not done with that until 6. We could try for Thursday, Teddy's piano is over."

"That could work. Dawson doesn't start back up at gymnastics until the spring." Fitz smiled.

"Great, so Thursday, 3:15, at the park near the kids' school?"

Olivia smiled back politely as she returned her attention to her meal, trying to ignore the butterflies that were forming in her stomach.

The fussy side of Dawson rarely came out, but when it did, boy was it awful. Olivia had woken Dawson up that morning, only to be greeted by wary brown eyes. Dawson clutched her prized elephant by its ear as Olivia tried to coax her out of bed. Dawson always looked younger in the morning, which probably wasn't hard to believe since her daughter was often mistaken for a four-year old.

Dawson needed to take her bath, and she wasn't making it easy on Olivia. Dawson wailed as Olivia gave up on trying to get her six-year old out of bed on her own, she lifted her squirmy body from the warm cocoon that was her bed and comforter. Olivia held Dawson to her body securely as Dawson dug her bare heels into Olivia's lower back.

"Can you help me out here, Daws?" Olivia asked, trying not to let her irritability leak into her voice.

Dawson continued to wrap herself inconveniently around Olivia as they arrived at the bathroom. Olivia pulled off Dawson's cotton highlighter blue striped pajamas and beckoned her off into the warm tub. As Dawson settled into the bathtub and started washing herself with her baby Aveeno bath wash, Olivia sat on the bench across from the bathtub.

Dawson was more independent than any kid Olivia had ever came in contact with. Her best friend, Abby's kids still wanted/needed Abby to give them baths, and they were five, seven and nine. Dawson seemed to like doing things for herself, if Olivia even tried to help her with a task she hadn't quite mastered yet- like fastening her ballies or reaching one of the high built in shelves in her closet- Dawson would protest, and insist that she could do it herself.

Olivia bounced her crossed leg, antsy for Dawson to finish her washing routine.

"Don't get your hair wet, Daws." Olivia warned as Dawson's washcloth was dangerously close to one of her plump Bantu knots.

"Okay, Mommy."

Dawson sang, as she seemed to be out of her funk.

Olivia smiled at her daughter's singing voice, hoping that the rest of their morning routine went seamlessly.

Olivia pulled herself out of her reverie a moment later as her phone rang- a look at the ID told her that it was her best friend- Abby.

"Morning Abs," Olivia greeted, keeping her eyes on Dawson's hair.

"Liv. Please tell me your morning is going better than mine."

Olivia surveyed her morning- she'd had only a little resistance with Dawson, and they were still ahead of schedule.

"I'd say it is." Olivia chuckled, "What's up? You alright?"

Olivia heard Abby's chaotic background- Abby's three boys- Austin, Avery and Adam were rambunctious, all over the place and too much for Abby and her active husband- Andrew to handle. Olivia couldn't recall a day where Abby hadn't been overwhelmed.

"Define alright! Austin I swear-"

Olivia pulled the phone away from her ear as Abby started yelling at her middle son- Austin who was seven.

Dawson giggled as she heard the commotion going on.

"Liv! Its days like this that I wish I only had one kid. One perfect kid. Jesus Christ."

Olivia grinned at Dawson, who had turned her attention back to washing herself, singing once again in her small voice.

"I can see why," Olivia agreed.

Thursday came quickly, much to Olivia's surprise. She was all set to leave on time for Dawson's playdate around 2:30. She had reviewed the necessary documents needed to satisfy her decision on one of four deals she was working on, and was slipping her coat on by 2:45.

She took her empty tea mug and briefcase and headed out of her building, thankful that she had allowed herself time to get to Dawson's school in time.

Thinking about an afternoon spent with her daughter excited Olivia, but, she realized that she was yearning to see Fitz again. She felt butterflies soaring in her stomach as she thought about his handsome face, how he towered over her in that delicious way, and how he made her feel so at ease. She could envision herself talking to him for hours.

 _I could envision lots of things._

Olivia thought as she pulled into the parking space, spotting her daughter jumping up and down at the sight of her mother. She held on firmly to Fitz's hand, with Teddy clinging to Fitz's other hand.

As she emerged from the car, she noticed Fitz surveying her, his cool blue eyes looked eager. Olivia bit her lip as she walked to meet her daughter, Teddy and Fitz.


	3. Hospitals & Yellow Roses

The kids were excited to spend time together outside of the rules of the classroom that they had to adhere to. Dawson and Teddy held hands as they ran around the spacious playground- giggling and whispering in their second language.

Olivia and Fitz had exchanged numbers and earlier in the day Olivia had texted him and asked if she should pick up snacks or if Fitz wanted to take the kids out afterwards. Fitz thought it would be a good idea for the kids to get the most out of their playdate, and he suggested that they talk about a convenient solution.

Olivia sat next to Fitz, sipping on the green tea he'd brought her. How he knew that she lived on tea, Olivia couldn't be sure. She just chalked it up to a lucky guess.

Fitz was dressed handsomely today- in a black sweater and jeans, Olivia wondered how he could make such simple articles of clothing so attractive. She crossed her leg, glancing over at Teddy and Dawson, who were turning cartwheels in the chilly afternoon. Olivia was glad that she'd made a point to dress Dawson in an older pair of jeans, a sweater and an old pair of high top converses. Watching Dawson playing so effortlessly with Teddy put Olivia at peace; watching Dawson do anything made Olivia's heart swell.

Olivia turned her attention back to Fitz, only to realize that he had been checking up on the children as well.

They locked eyes and giggled as soon as they did so.

"Sorry," Olivia apologized, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face.

"No need," Fitz amended, sipping his coffee.

"Dawson's a great kid- did I tell you?" Fitz inquired, grinning as they both looked back toward the children.

"Now that you mention it, you did." Olivia teased, trying her hardest not to flirt with Fitz. As easy as flirting with Fitz was, Olivia reminded herself why she was there: for Dawson.

"Teddy was so excited all week about the playdate. I'm just glad we could make it happen." Olivia nodded in agreement.

"Me too. Daws doesn't usually take to kids her age. She's Mommy's little adult. As cute as that is, she worries me. I'm glad she's logging some kid hours."

Fitz smiled at Olivia's pronouncement, he leaned back on the bench, stroking his lower lip- seemingly in thought.

"What if we made this a regular thing? Maybe not every week if it's too much… but every other Thursday could be good… At least until Dawson starts gymnastics… I mean."

Olivia had started to nod, until her ears filled with a sound she rarely heard- her daughter's scream. Olivia stood, abandoning her cup of tea. Olivia sprinted over to where Dawson was laying, spread eagle in the grass, Teddy perched at her side.

"Lovie! What happened?"

Dawson's eyes were filled with tears, and she stared up at Olivia with a horrified expression.

Teddy stared at Dawson too, his eyes wide and frightened.

"Teddy, what happened? Did Dawson fall?"

Teddy nodded.

"She did a cartwheel and her arm fell. I don't know… she fell."

Olivia hesitated to pick Dawson up- what if she had a neck injury? A spinal injury? Could that happen with falls? What if she'd broken something? Fitz leaned over Dawson on the opposite side.

"Dawson? Honey? What's 2+2?" Fitz asked calmly. Dawson blinked twice before opening her mouth and answering.

"4." Olivia let out the breath she'd been holding.

"Baby, what hurts?" Olivia asked desperately, careful only to touch Dawson's cheek softly.

"My leg." Dawson muttered, her eyes still brimming with tears.

"Can you walk baby? Or do you want to go see a doctor?"

Olivia pressed. Dawson's face crumpled into a sob. "I don't know. I don't know."

Olivia stared at Dawson helplessly, trying to decide what to do.

"She probably sprained it, but we should get her to a hospital." Fitz appealed, staring into Olivia's eyes. Olivia nodded firmly, still unsure of what she should do. Fitz's authority over the situation did bring Olivia some comfort.

It was nice not to have to panic- more than she already was.

"Okay," Olivia agreed, watching Fitz gingerly scoop Dawson into his arms, making her look tinier than she already was.

Without thinking much of it, Olivia leaned down to lift Teddy into her arms, he rested without complaint on Olivia's hip. They had to hurry to the hospital, and Olivia couldn't be bothered with five year old legs. Fitz led the way to his Range Rover; Teddy's car seat was in the back.

"Do you want to hold her, Liv? In the back so she won't move?" Olivia nodded, lowering Teddy in his car seat, strapping him in and following Fitz around the other side of the car to take Dawson in her lap.

Fitz closed the door on them and hurried to start the car, pulling from the playground's parking lot quickly.

"Sibley's close." Fitz announced, taking a turn and checking in the rearview mirror.

Olivia cradled Dawson's head carefully, trying to keep her daughter's mind off of the pain.

"Well, Mrs. Davis-" Olivia gritted her teeth in spite of herself, Dr. Royce paused, his warm green eyes widening- he was clearly surprised at Olivia's reaction.

"Sorry, doctor. I'm not Mrs. Davis anymore- I'm Ms. Pope." Dr. Royce checked his clipboard again.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Pope. It seems you're still on your ex-husband's insurance." Olivia nodded and crossed her arms.

"I'm sure it says that, but Dawson and I are on my plan through my work, I can provide you with that information." Dr. Royce nodded, noting so on his clipboard and returned his sights to Olivia.

"About Dawson- she's going to be alright. She twisted her ankle coming down on a cartwheel. She'll be sore and uncomfortable for a few weeks, but it's nothing too serious. Not even a sprain."

Olivia breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to where Teddy and Fitz were sitting and giving them an enthused thumbs up. "That's amazing. But will I need to put her on pain meds? Is she getting a cast or-"

Dr. Royce chuckled. "No-no cast. I'd say the best medicine for Dawson right now is to have you there. Keep her resting comfortably. We are going to send her home with a few ACE bandages, but other than that, she should heal on her own. Kids bump themselves around a lot- as I'm sure you know. She'll be back to normal in a couple weeks or so."

Olivia grinned broadly, almost jumping up and down as the realization that her daughter was going to be fine.

"Can I see her?" Olivia asked, craning her neck as if Dawson would be standing behind Dr. Royce.

"Absolutely." Dr. Royce assured, leading the way toward Dawson's room. "You'll be able to take her home in about an hour. The nurses are just fawning over her, by the way. And they see a lot of cute kids," Dr. Royce winked, stopping at an open door.

"Daws!" Olivia exclaimed, walking into the room and noting that Dawson was laying in the middle of a child-sized bed. She looked better, much better and had her ACE bandaged foot propped up on pillows.

"Mommy!" Dawson responded with equal excitement, but with no body movement. Olivia was sure her daughter was feeling better, but was surprised at how she controlled her movement- she really was the little adult.

Olivia scooted to Dawson's side, taking in her daughter's cheerful features, and kissing her on her forehead. Dawson's big brown eyes twinkled.

"No more cartwheels!" Olivia cooed, half-seriously. Dawson beamed at Olivia.

"No more cartwheels, Mommy." Dawson agreed, her small voice squeaking. "Can Teddy and Mr. Grant come to our house for dinner?" Olivia twisted her mouth in thought.

"Of course they can. I have to ask them what their plans are- but it shouldn't be a problem."

"Can Daddy come too?"

Olivia sat up from her daughter, blocking her eye view. Olivia stared at her ex-husband, who stood in the doorway carrying a bouquet of roses and a bemused expression.

"Hello Olivia," Edison greeted, taking a step into the room. Olivia was almost rooted to her spot by her daughter's hospital bed.

 _NO!_ She screamed in her head. Her daughter had gone six years of her life without much of a word from her father. If it wasn't for other children discussing _their_ fathers and Olivia's brief mentions of him, Dawson would have no idea her own father existed.

Edison looked the same, almost as handsome as he had been the day he left, when Dawson was four months old. Olivia hated him for it. She hated him for being here, like he'd never left.

Olivia strode forward quickly, gripping Edison up by his arm and dragging him from the hospital room.

"Excuse me?" Olivia asked one of the nurses at the nurse's station. "Can you sit with my daughter while I talk to her father, please?" The younger of the two nurses seated behind the counter sprung up, clapping her hands.

"Is it the cutie with the big brown eyes?" Olivia didn't answer as the woman scrambled into Dawson's room.

Olivia held on firm to Edison's arm, pulling him down the hall to a more desolate area of the pediatric unit.

"What _the fuck_ are you doing here?" Olivia hissed, making eye contact with Edison for the first time, releasing his arm.

Edison stepped back from Olivia, biting his lip as he surveyed her up and down appreciatively.

"I knew she couldn't mess up your body, damn." Olivia raised an eyebrow, incredulous at his words.

"You travel _Lord knows how many miles_ to tell me that my _body_ still looks good? Are you that much of an asshole or did you actually come to see your daughter?"

Edison grinned; he was enjoying himself.

"Is it wrong to say both?"

Olivia's glare answered Edison's question, but he put his hands up in surrender.

"Look, I left you two. I get it. But you two are still my family. And Dawson is my daughter. I came for both of you. I missed you both."

Olivia rolled her eyes in disbelief.

"You're not going in there," Olivia declared. "I'm not going to have you confusing _my_ daughter. You aren't going to be darting in and out of her life, Edison. She's a good person without you. Until I know you're serious about seeing her and being her father instead of a _sometime-sy asshole_ , you'll be keeping your distance."

Edison still wore his amused expression. He stared at Olivia with an ounce of pity as he looked down the hall to his daughter's room.

"I'm living here, Liv. I live here now. About fifteen minutes from you. I get that you want to protect her, but you can't protect her from me. I'm her father. No matter how good of a mother you are, she's always going to wonder about me. I'm a hole in her life. And you know that. So we can get together later in the week and lay out Dawson's schedule. We can decide the best way that I can see her, within your comfort zone- of course. But we need to do this, Liv. I don't want to take you to court. But I will. I missed six years. And I don't want to miss six more."

Olivia crossed her arms to keep herself from punching Edison in the throat. She took a breath, not entirely trusting her ability not to scream at and decimate her ex.

"You missed six years of our daughter's life _because you wanted to_. I never kept her from you- even though I had grounds. You _know_ I had grounds to keep her from you. But I didn't! I was sure to dress her up and have her waiting whenever you decided you wanted to be a father. I was more than fair. I've never once put my foot down. But I am doing that now. I'm telling you. Take me to court and I. Will. Win. I have cared for her, clothed her, and fed her. ME. I'm the reason she's reading at a second grade level. You can't come and fuck my daughter up. I won't let you. I. Will. Win. No court is going to disregard what I've done in favor of your six-year late and _half-assed_ apology.

Edison crossed his arms, mirroring Olivia's angered stance.

"I'll meet you at two o'clock on Saturday. At the coffee shop you used to love around the corner from you house. We're not doing this here." Edison pushed the bouquet of yellow roses into Olivia's arms.

"Tell Dawson that Daddy will see her soon." Olivia watched Edison walk down the hall, past Fitz, who held Teddy's hand. Teddy was chomping at the bit, jumping up and down, his small voice requesting to see Dawson. Fitz looked at Olivia, who had slightly crumpled in the corner, clutching the roses, with a somewhat confused expression.

Seeing that Fitz and Teddy were waiting, Olivia gathered herself and walked back down the hall, her stilettos clacking on the linoleum. Fitz now regarded her with absolute tenderness. Teddy looked up to Olivia, taking her limp hand.

"Can I see Dawson?" Teddy asked. Olivia managed a smile for Teddy and led him into Dawson's room, where Dawson greeted each of them enthusiastically.

Olivia and Fitz left Teddy, Dawson and the young nurse in the room as they stepped back in the hallway. The nurse had fawned over the flowers and gotten a vase for them, Olivia was just thankful not to have to hold them anymore.

"So that was Dawson's dad?" Fitz asked gently, as Olivia leaned against the wall, trying not to look as defeated as she felt.

"Yep. Making a rare appearance. And by rare I mean…this is the first time he and Dawson have been in the same place in years." Olivia muttered angrily, her eyes widening as she realized she'd shared too much. But Fitz didn't look uncomfortable, in fact he looked positively understanding.

"My ex isn't as much of a nightmare, but she's not far off. Just as much of an egomaniac without the absentee part." Fitz grinned but when Olivia didn't respond, he feared he'd overstepped.

"I'm sorry if that joke was crude…" Fitz apologized, to which Olivia snapped from her thoughts.

"No, no. Your sentiments are appreciated. Really. I'm just a little pensive. I did want to ask if you and Teddy were doing something tomorrow night. I'm keeping Dawson home from school. And I thought that she and Teddy could have dinner tomorrow night. She practically begged me to have you guys over tonight. But it is a school night…"

Fitz grinned broadly.

"Teddy is going to freak out. I'm not sure how I'm going to get him through 'till tomorrow night." Olivia agreed.

"Yeah, and I'm going to be trying to get Dawson to chill out and watch TV with me all day. So we'll both have hard jobs to do." Fitz moved his hand to cup the top of Olivia's shoulder.

"I'm glad Dawson's okay. And I know things with your ex will work themselves out."

Fitz's baritone voice professed soothingly. Olivia tried to regain her composure, as her skin heated under his touch. Why had she worn a sleeveless dress today with the matching blazer? She had other long-sleeved office dresses that would prevent the direct contact that she was experiencing.

"Thank you," Olivia replied sincerely, her eyes making contact with Fitz's baby blues.

"Babe, you have to sit down. Do you want to twist your ankle all over again?" Olivia asked, staring at a document associated with one of her biggest accounts as Dawson wiggled on the other side of their sectional. One small hand gripped the TV remote and her other hand secured her iPad in her lap.

"Mommy. How many hours 'till Teddy's here?" Dawson squeaked, changing the channel from Peppa Pig to a marathon of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Olivia raised an eyebrow at Dawson's show choice, but chose to ignore it. Olivia checked her phone; Fitz assured her that he and Teddy would be over around seven. It was just after four.

"Like three more hours, babe."

Dawson groaned, tilting her head back in frustration. Their day had been relatively easy-going. Dawson had only slept in an extra forty-five minutes, and was more than pleased to not have her hair tamed. She wore it out, her curls splayed defiantly in every direction. Olivia made Dawson's favorite strawberry pancakes and grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch. It was only after Dawson's midday nap that she'd begun to be annoyed with her mother and the time respectively.

Olivia was relieved to be able to work at home. She wore her adult Wonder Woman onesie (at Dawson's incessant urging) and her hair was pulled up in an effortless bun.

"Mommy. I'm bored."

Olivia opened her mouth to answer as her phone rang- her father, Eli was calling.

"Dad."

Her father lived a street or two over from their home. Olivia had half the mind to request that her father come stay with Dawson during the day, just so she wouldn't have to miss work, but she decided against it. Especially considering the conversation she'd had with Edison, she wanted to spend as much time with Dawson as possible.

"Liv. You never call your father." Olivia grinned.

"I know, Dad. I'm sorry. Daws and I are home for the day. I texted you to tell you that she sprained her ankle yesterday. You didn't text me back."

"I figured I'd call. That's an even better response, yeah?" Olivia rolled her eyes playfully.

"Daws, your Pop-Pop's on the phone- want to talk to him?"

Dawson nodded enthusiastically- she adored her Pop-Pop.

Olivia carefully passed Dawson her iPhone and returned to her work.

"Pop-Pop can you come over or do you have spades today?"

Olivia couldn't hear her father's reply, but she could guess, at Dawson's tinkling laugh what he said.

"I was watching Peppa Pig. But now it's… Yeah uh huh."

Olivia jumped at the doorbell's ring. She jumped up. "Daws, stay on the phone with Pop Pop, till I get back."

"'Kay Mommy," Dawson called as Olivia walked to her front door, her bare feet slapping against the wooden floors. Thank God she had the heated floors installed throughout the spacious home.

Olivia peeked through the peephole- hoping that Edison wasn't at her door with more bullshit. Olivia couldn't be sure whether she would control herself if it was him.

Thankfully, it was her best friend, Abby and her oldest son, Adam.

Olivia opened the door, ushering them inside.

"Hey you two," Olivia cooed, hugging Adam, who was nearly as tall as her now, and hugging Abby last. Adam was older looking each time Olivia saw him, he looked less and less like a baby and there was usually some new look to his carrot orange hair. His haircut was yet another look that Olivia didn't recognize- his hair was short on the sides and long with a floppy swoop in the middle.

"How's Daws? Austin and Avery wanted to see her too, but they had karate and soccer. _This one_ is benched for the week from swimming so I brought him." Olivia chuckled at Abby's reproachful look at Adam.

"She's alright. She's been princess-ing it up all afternoon. She's still on the phone with my Dad." Olivia led Abby and Adam to the living room, where Dawson still clung to the phone, describing what was going on in Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

"He's biting this burger with … um sauce on it… and mac n' cheese." Dawson said very seriously, her little face screwed up in concentration at the TV.

"Daws, Abby and Adam are here for you, tell Pop-Pop you love him lots and you'll see him later." Dawson quickly obeyed and handed her mother the phone once she was done. Olivia motioned to the phone, Abby gave her a thumbs up as she and Adam began visiting with Dawson, asking her questions about her purple ACE bandage.

"Dad?"

Olivia asked, once she was safely out of earshot in the kitchen.

"Olivia… How serious is this Edison thing?" Her father asked quickly, cutting right to the chase.

Olivia crossed her arm.

"Not very… How did you know about that?"

"Dawson said that her Daddy came to visit her today… but that's not a thing that happened… is it?"

Olivia was silent on the other end. Eli sighed.

"This is typical Edison, Dad. I didn't let him see her. I don't even want him talking to her, enjoying how amazing she is. He _does not deserve it._ "

"No, I agree with you. He doesn't deserve to know her. But this is what's happening. He's going to fight you for her. You know he is. He's untimely, but he's prideful."

Olivia sighed heavily, pushing her hand on her forehead, as she stared down at her onesie.

"Dad. Can you come with me to talk to Edison tomorrow? At two? Do you have stuff to do?"

"Of course I'll come. I'll pick you up, alright? Is Abby going to watch Dawson?"

"Probably. We can drop her off on the way,"

"Okay, I'll call when I'm on my way tomorrow. Love you,"

"Love you too, Dad."

Olivia hung up her phone, not allowing herself to realize that she was going to negotiate with her horrible ex tomorrow about her daughter. This couldn't be a reality. She refused to accept it.

Olivia started back into the living room, but paused as a text from Fitz popped onto her phone.

 **FITZ: We're on the way now… It's a bit early but Teddy is driving me up a wall. Is that alright or should I sedate him for another hour?**

Olivia checked her phone. Shit! It was after five thirty.

 **OLIVIA: Hold the sedation! Head on over by all means. Do you need my address again?**

 **FITZ: Not necessary! Saved it from yesterday. See you in ten!**

 **OLIVIA: Great!**

Olivia returned to the living room, interrupting Dawson teaching Abby and Adam how to make the loom bracelets that she was _still_ obsessed with somehow.

"Daws, Teddy's on his way!" Olivia announced, clapping her hands as Dawson flipped out. She squealed in delight as she kept her foot absolutely still.

"Mommy, I want a hair tie," Dawson said, handing over the loom kit to Adam who actually seemed entertained by the prospect of making a rubber band bracelet.

"Here you go, babe. Need help?" Olivia asked, handing Dawson the hair tie from around her wrist. Dawson looked at Olivia seriously before bunning up her own hair, messily, but successfully. Olivia held up her hands in surrender.

"Do you want to change? Or are you alright in your PJ's?" Olivia asked.

"I'm okay. Are you going to change, Mommy?" Olivia raised an eyebrow, not understanding what her daughter meant as the doorbell rang.

"I'll be right back." Olivia called, shuffling to the front door and pulling it open, already sure that it was Teddy and Fitz.

Teddy bounced excitedly as Fitz tried desperately to control him.

"Ted, buddy we're here! It's okay. Dawson's inside _relax_."

Olivia smiled at Teddy. "Hey Teddy," Olivia greeted, unlocking the outside door and letting them both in.

"Hi Ms. Pope." Olivia laughed at Teddy, realizing that he'd never addressed her directly.

"Call me Liv," She encouraged.

"Liv! I like your pajamas." Teddy chirped, pulling at Liv's onesie. Fitz, too was taking in Olivia's Wonder Woman onesie and bare feet. She was more than a foot and a half shorter than him without her heels. And she looked years younger in the onesie compared to the blazers and dresses Fitz had seen her in.

"T-thanks, Teddy. I didn't realize I was still wearing these… I meant to change." Olivia stammered, meeting Fitz's eyes.

"I think you look breathtaking," Fitz insisted, grinning at her. Olivia smiled up at him, the apples of her cheeks warming.

"Thanks," Olivia muttered, leading Fitz and Teddy back to the living room, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach and the heavy thumping of her heart.


	4. Shepard's Pie & Simplicity

"What's this called?" Teddy asked, taking another bite of Olivia's Shepard's pie. Olivia, Fitz, Teddy and Dawson were seated at the table, eating dinner. Olivia was still wearing her Wonder Woman onesie, at the insistence of Fitz and Teddy.

"Shepard's pie, bud." Teddy hopped up and down in his chair, taking another spoonful of mashed potatoes and corn. Dawson sat across from Teddy, her little leg propped up under the table on a stool. Fitz grinned across the table at Olivia, as she tried not to grin too broadly back.

"Why's it called pie? It's not a pie." Olivia giggled.

"I don't know. That's a good question." Teddy smiled at Olivia shyly and continued eating his dinner.

"Mommy?" Dawson asked, not making eye contact with Olivia. Olivia turned to Dawson.

"Yeah, babe?"

"Can Mr. Fitz and Teddy stay the night? Please?" Olivia quickly met Fitz's eyes.

"I'm sure Mr. Fitz and Teddy have stuff to do tomorrow, babe." Dawson looked up at Mr. Fitz expectantly.

"Well do you?" Dawson asked, her voice innocent yet demanding.

Olivia coughed, surprised at Dawson's insolence.

"Hey. You don't talk to Mr. Fitz that way." Olivia scolded. Dawson's cheeks reddened as she sunk back into her chair.

"I'm sorry, Mommy."

Olivia sighed, looking at Dawson's face. She was clearly embarrassed. Olivia turned to Fitz, who was already looking at her.

"Any chance that you two, or maybe just Teddy would be willing to stay over?" Fitz looked to Teddy, who had started vibrating in his chair nodded eagerly before his father had a chance to ask him.

"Dawson, Teddy, why don't you go into the living room. Daws, do you need my help?" Dawson shook her head and followed Teddy into the living room.

Olivia turned back to Fitz as she stood and began clearing the dinner dishes. Fitz helped her, grabbing the remaining two plates and following her to the sink.

"What do you think?" Olivia asked, running the faucet and scraping the remaining food down the garbage disposal.

"I think it could be a good idea. Teddy adores Dawson, I'd have to sedate him to get him to leave." Fitz replied, smirking. "I'll get him in the morning."

Olivia took one of the plates from Fitz's hand and glanced up at him.

"You didn't want to stay?" Olivia asked innocently, trying not to sound too eager.

"I don't want to wear out my welcome," Fitz confessed, stepping next to Olivia and dropping the last plate into the sink.

Olivia felt her breath hitching as his arm touched hers, their bodies touching momentarily. She looked up at Fitz again, her eyes half-moons.

"I think Dawson wants you to stay. She likes you a lot, you know."

Fitz smiled, showing his crisp white teeth. "I didn't know that. You learn something new every day." Olivia twisted her mouth, biting the inside of her lower lip as Fitz stepped back.

"Sounds good. I'll run home and get us some pjs. Actually, would you and Dawson like to come? We can get ice cream on the way back at this place I know. They make the ice cream in store, it's fantastic." Olivia nodded. Ice cream with Fitz and Teddy sounded good. After the previous day, she just wanted to focus on Dawson, and what was best for her. She adored Teddy, and Fitz. Dawson seemed to light up when they were all together, and Olivia wanted to keep that going as long as possible. It wasn't a hard decision.

"Of course. Dawson and I will change. We'll be ready in five or so."

"I'll finish loading the dishwasher. Do you want me to run it for you?" Olivia stopped, slightly thrown off by Fitz's offer. She wasn't accustomed to being offered help and she never asked for it.

"Um. Sure. The detergent pods are under the sink." Fitz nodded and stooped down to grab the bag of pods. Olivia watched him double check that the placement of the dishes was fine, before depositing a pack into the compartment and starting the cycle.

"Do you do that a lot?" Olivia asked, motioning to the dishwasher.

Fitz looked to the dishwasher and laughed sheepishly.

"Yeah. Life of a working dad."

Olivia lingered a moment longer as Fitz wiped the counters. He wasn't even paying attention to her as he scrubbed the stove and moved to the kitchen table. Quickly, Olivia dashed from the kitchen and into the living room and found Dawson and Teddy rolling around on the floor in front of the large flat screen mounted on the wall.

"Daws, c'mon we have to get dressed. Teddy and Mr. Fitz are taking us out for ice cream." Dawson hopped up excitedly as Teddy followed and threw his arms around her neck. They began to chant "Yay ice cream" as Olivia laughed at the scene.

"Okay, come." Olivia said, still laughing.

Dawson took her mom's hand and grinned up at her appreciatively.

"Teddy, why don't you go into the kitchen with your Dad? We'll be back down in a few." Teddy bounced into the kitchen as Dawson and Olivia made their way upstairs and into Dawson's room.

Olivia had done her best to redecorate Dawson's room every year, according to what her daughter liked at the time. When she was two, Dawson had a princess themed bedroom, complete with a purple four post bed, but by the time she'd turned four, she wanted a rock princess bedroom, with a karaoke station. Last year, Dawson told Olivia she was over themes and just wanted a yellow and blue bedroom. Olivia hired a stylist to work with Dawson for décor, and the result was the most mature six-year old bedroom in Washington. Olivia entered Dawson's closet, flicking the lights on and picking her daughter up.

"Okay, what are we thinking?" Olivia asked seriously. Dawson stroked her chin.

"Sweatpants!" Olivia giggled, surprised. Dawson four pairs of black and gray sweatpants for ballet, but she rarely wore them outside of class.

"Really?" Olivia asked. Dawson nodded eagerly and reached her hand up toward the stack of sweatpants. Olivia stepped forward so that Dawson could grab a black pair.

"And?"

Dawson pointed to her pink leotard.

"Babe. A leo? For ice cream?" Dawson shrugged, but Olivia stepped toward the other side of the closet to allow Dawson to grab a leotard from the stack. Dawson tugged one of her pink ones down along with her black hoodie.

"Grab your Uggs. I'm going to get dressed." Dawson took her Uggs and tugged on Olivia's hand.

"Mommy, can I get dressed in your room?"

Olivia grinned and led Dawson into her room. She threw open her closet and grabbed a pair of blue jeans down from one of the top shelves in her built in wall.

"Mommy?" Dawson's small voice asked as Olivia pulled off the onesie and pulled on her jeans.

"Yeah, babe?"

"Can Teddy be my brother?" Olivia blinked, unsure of what to say.  
"Why do you ask that, Daws?"

"Cause. I want a brother. Do you like Mr. Fitz?" Olivia pulled a camisole down and pulled it on as she searched for her comfortable black wraparound sweater.

"I like Mr. Fitz. And Teddy. That's why we're getting ice cream."

"Okay." Dawson conceded. Olivia breathed a sigh of relief as she exited her closet in search of socks.

"What about my Daddy? Do you like him?" Olivia took a pair of black socks from her top drawer and turned to see Dawson trying to pull on her last Ugg over her ACE bandage.

"Here, babe. Let me help." Olivia dropped to her knees and helped Dawson's Ugg onto her foot.

"Well, do you?" Dawson asked, once her Ugg was on her foot.

"Babe. It's not that simple."

Dawson looked into Olivia's eyes seriously.

"Why not?"

Olivia shrugged. "Because, adults do things that are complicated and so it makes feelings complicated. It's not always as simple as liking someone or not."

"But you like Mr. Fitz? And that's not complicated?" Olivia grinned, appreciative of her daughter in that moment.

"Yes, I like Mr. Fitz. That's simple. It's easy to like Mr. Fitz."

Dawson grinned and threw her arms around Olivia.

"Okay, Mommy."

"Sprinkles are the best thing ever." Dawson said seriously, swaying side to side in her chair. "Strawberry ice cream is so good." Olivia laughed at her daughter. Fitz was clearly enjoying Dawson's excitement over the ice cream.

"Have you never had ice cream before, Daws? Or are you always this excited?" Olivia smiled down at her own scoop of cookies and cream.

"Daws has had ice cream before, but she doesn't get it too often. Just occasionally, so it's always a treat." Fitz nodded as he looked over at Teddy, who was seriously involved with his scoop of chunky monkey.

"I should try that approach. Maybe Teddy wouldn't treat ice cream like it's the last coke in the desert." Olivia burst out laughing, covering her mouth as Fitz laughed with her, watching her in wonder.

Olivia turned, as the door to the ice cream shop opened; they were the only ones in the shop. Olivia dropped her spoon as she realized Edison was there, in the ice cream shop. Dawson looked up from her ice cream and at Olivia, unsure of what was going on. Before Olivia could intervene, Edison strode over to Dawson and dropped to his knee, smiling at his daughter.

"Hi, baby." Dawson visibly shrunk as she was met eye to eye with her father for the first time, she looked up at her mother, her large eyes brimming with tears.

"Who are you?" Dawson asked in her smallest voice.

"I'm your Daddy, big girl. I've missed you for so long." Dawson shook her head and grabbed her bun, as she avoided his eyes.

"Hey, hey." Edison cooed. Fitz stood then, looking at Olivia with empathetic eyes. Olivia stood there helplessly, holding her arms to try to comfort herself.

Fitz patted Teddy's head and went to hold Olivia. Despite her frustration and anger, Olivia melted into Fitz, tears streamed down her face as she watched her nightmare coming true before her eyes.

"I'm your Daddy. I love you. I just wanna spend time with you." Dawson shifted in her chair slightly, clearly still unsure of what to make of her father.

"Really?"

Edison nodded, and looked over at Fitz and Olivia.

"How's that ankle of yours? You feeling better?" Dawson nodded.

"Okay, baby. I just wanted to see you. Maybe we can go out to the park? Or I could take you to ballet next week. Would you like that?" Dawson thought very seriously for a moment.

"Maybe. Maybe I'd like it."

Edison kissed Dawson on her forehead quickly.

"Maybe is good enough for me, big girl." Edison stood. "See you tomorrow Olivia. I love you, Dawson." Edison turned and left the store, and Olivia pulled from Fitz's arms and picked Dawson up, squeezing her tightly.

"Babe. We need to get home. Fitz, Teddy, you ready to go?" Teddy took his cup of ice cream and stood, going over to hug Olivia's leg.

"I'm ready, Liv." Fitz nodded, looking into Olivia's eyes.

"I'm ready too,"

Olivia stared at Teddy and Dawson, who were sprawled out in Dawson's full-sized bed. After ice cream, they'd watched _Tangled_ , which the kids fell asleep on, halfway through. Olivia carried Teddy to Dawson's room, and Fitz carried Dawson. They stood for a while, watching them sleep, and slowly, watching them gravitate toward each other, until they were holding hands.

"They're so sweet together. Dawson calms him down so much," Fitz said, standing in the hallway as Olivia closed the door.

"They are," Olivia agreed, walking back down the hallway and downstairs to the living room.

"I'm afraid Teddy may have ADHD. Our pediatrician wants to put him on medication. But, seeing him with Dawson is such a relief. It proves that he doesn't need to be on meds to behave." Olivia crossed her arms as she collapsed on the couch.

"Would you believe that my pediatrician told me the same thing? They wanted to put Dawson on meds, but I refused. She's energetic, but she doesn't have ADHD. And Teddy is sweet. He's a sweet boy who gets a little excited about things, that doesn't mean he had a disorder either."

Fitz smiled at Olivia as he turned to the TV, where the ending credits of _Tangled_ were rolling.

"How are you holding up? About seeing your ex, I mean."

Olivia shrugged, knowing exactly how she felt about it.

"I'm just scared, that he's going to try to take her. I'm so scared. You have no idea."

"I do. At least, I believe I do." Fitz said, searching Olivia's eyes. "When my ex and I split up, the judge called all three of my children in, and asked them who they wanted to live with. Teddy said me, but my two oldest children, Jerry and Karen decided that they wanted to stay with my ex. They live with her full time, but they occasionally visit me overnight or during school break. It was hard, to come to terms with the fact that they didn't want to live with me full time. But I had to accept it. So I can understand how you are feeling. Losing your child… is hard. It's the hardest thing in the world, to give up even a second of time with them."

Olivia scooted closer to Fitz, and buried her face into his chest, hugging him tightly around his waist.

"Thank you," Olivia murmured into Fitz's chest. "Thank you for being here for the past few days. You've just been so amazing, and I don't know what I'd do… just… thank you. You've been so kind." Olivia pulled away from Fitz's chest and stared up at him, her eyes drifting slightly down to his lips. Fitz brushed a tear from Olivia's eye.

"I'm glad I could be here. I've loved being here for you."

Before she could think about it anymore, Olivia did it, she leaned up and kissed Fitz, her tears wetting his face as she mounted him and pushed her hands onto his face, anchoring him to her.

Fitz didn't hesitate to grab Olivia's hips and run his hand up her back, pulling her closer to him, too.

But almost as quickly as she'd started it, Olivia ended it, by pulling back, and sitting, chastised on Fitz's lap.

"I'm sorry. I'm so… sorry. I must be more upset than I thought." Fitz chuckled, and held onto Olivia's hips still.

"Can I ask you one thing?" Fitz requested, his finger brushing back and forth against her exposed skin. Olivia nodded, feeling lightheaded as Fitz's finger continued to move against her most sensitive skin.

"Do you like me?" Olivia swallowed, her throat thick.

"You're my daughter's teacher." Olivia replied plainly, trying to distract herself from the feeling that Fitz's fingers were creating.

"Does that mean yes?" Fitz asked, a smile playing on his lips. Olivia smiled despite herself, and kissed Fitz again.

"That means yes."


	5. Off the Wall & Socks

"Teddy'll eat anything drenched in syrup." Fitz commented, dipping a piece of bread into a bowl of egg, milk, vanilla and cinnamon mixture. Liv laughed, tearing off the corner of a piece of French toast that was already done.

"Dawson too. She's so tiny already, I have to spoon-feed her PediaSure's for her to get any sort of nutrition," Liv felt guilty in that moment; she hated how poor Dawson's diet was, despite her best efforts to feed her the best food. Fitz grinned.

"Well, how about we buy some powdered vitamins or something? Or, we could try substituting stuff so that they'll eat better." Liv smiled widely, trying to remain cool about how things were progressing with Fitz. Just feeling excited about someone was a nice change of pace. Liv wanted to want to take things slow, but once she'd admitted to Fitz that she liked him, she couldn't help but want to jump his bones, he was just so attractive. Having time apart to think the previous night had helped; Fitz slept in the guest bedroom, giving Liv a clearer head. Despite her night of thought, she could imagine an amazingly idyllic life with Fitz and Teddy, it all seemed within reach. Teddy and Dawson already got along well, and Liv was sure that she and Fitz being together wouldn't change that, though something was holding Liv back from taking that leap, but she couldn't be sure what it was.

"That's a good idea." Liv agreed, thinking of the gummy vitamins that were collecting dust on the second shelf of her pantry; Dawson refused to take them on a regular basis.

"Yeah, Teddy and I could pick some up from Whole Foods… and maybe you and Dawson could come with us," Fitz suggested, keeping his eyes on the sizzling pan.

 _He's so adorable_. Liv thought, noting how shy he seemed while he was going out on a limb.

"I'm sure we can squeeze you in today. Dawson's supposed to be hanging out with my friend, Abby later on. My father and I are going to talk to Edison, did I tell you?" Fitz shook his head.

"Nope, but I figured you'd be seeing him again soon." Liv nodded, turning and walking a few feet to set the table at the breakfast nook.

Liv couldn't help but smile as she noticed one of Teddy's socks on the floor under the table. Liv set down the stack of plates she held and kneeled down to take the sock in her hand, she held up her find.

"Look what I found," Liv called to Fitz, who turned and strode over to Liv just as she had begun to stand.

"Huh," Fitz replied, taking the sock. "He hates these things, I'm always finding the lone sock or the occasional mismatched pair. He must've slipped it off during our ice cream party last night." Liv smiled at the sock.

"That's probably what happened," Liv agreed. "They were so hopped up on sugar it's a wonder we got them to sleep at all," Fitz smiled a smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes, making Liv's heart flutter.

"We make a great team," Fitz concluded, his voice warm and laced with pride.

Liv opened her mouth to reply as Dawson and Teddy bounced into the kitchen.

"Morning!" They sang simultaneously, hand in hand.

Liv and Fitz instinctively took a step back and matched their children's excitement.

"Morning babe" Liv cooed, stooping down and holding out her arms to her daughter. Without a second thought, Teddy rushed in to hug Liv too, causing Liv to fall back, clutching both kids in her arms and giggling wildly.

Dawson kissed Liv. "Good morning, Mommy," Liv grinned and turned to kiss Teddy's forehead, and it felt natural to do so, like she'd done it a dozen times before.

Teddy looked up to his father and held out his arms to be picked up. Fitz obliged Teddy and lifted him up, kissing his cheek.

"Morning, bud." Teddy settled into his father's hip as Dawson watched them, still sitting in Liv's lap on the floor. Dawson looked away and smoothed Liv's curls, smiling somewhat sadly at her mother.

"Dawson?" Fitz asked, kneeling down with Teddy still firmly on his hip.

Dawson lifted her head in response and noticed Fitz's other arm extended for her. She became excited, a bright smile emerging on her face. She turned to Liv for permission quickly.

Liv nodded and Dawson slowly reached out for Fitz too, hugging him around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder. Liv remained on the floor as Fitz stood, carrying both Teddy and Dawson securely.

"This is clearly a party now," Liv announced, standing suddenly as inspiration hit her. "And a party needs music, right?" Dawson clapped, smiling hard as Liv kissed her on her forehead and bounced to the stereo system on the lower shelf of the kitchen wall.

"What do we want to listen to, Daws?" Liv asked, knowing full well what Dawson would say.

"The ghost song!" Dawson answered automatically, slightly bouncing on Fitz's hip in excitement.

"The ghost song?" Fitz asked in interest. Teddy seemed engaged too, probably excited because Dawson was excited. "Is this a Halloween party?" Fitz asked next.

"Wait and see!" Dawson urged, practically squeaking with excitement.

Liv retrieved her phone from the counter and scrolled in her music library until she found the ghost song. She pushed the aux jack into her phone and turned up the volume slightly before pressing 'play.'

The opening chords of the song overtook the room, as voices sang in a ghostlike fashion and a witch laughed, as Michael Jackson began to sing.

Fitz laughed as he realized what song it was. Fitz put Dawson and Teddy down as they'd started to dance in his arms and as soon as their feet hit the floor they began jumping up and down as Dawson sang; she knew every word.

"So tonight gotta leave that 9-5 up on the shelf and just enjoy yourself!" Dawson sang at the top of her lungs, her small voice booming as she jumped up and down, holding out her hands for Liv to take. Liv took them and they danced together, swirling and shimmying their bodies along to the beat. Liv laughed as Fitz started to do the hustle and Teddy mimicked him, his small hand clutching the hip of his Ninja Turtle pajamas.

Liv's chest felt light and for the first time in so long, she felt carefree. Dawson loved virtually every song Liv played for her, ever. But they'd started a ritual at the beginning of the previous school year that they'd listen to 'Off the Wall' every morning while Liv drove Dawson to school. The song made Liv feel good, and as she, Teddy, Dawson and Fitz danced together around the kitchen, she felt something different; love. She loved Teddy and Fitz so much, that she couldn't understand how that had happened in such a short time. The song drew to a close as Dawson padded over to Liv's phone and tapped the 'repeat' icon- as she'd only recently learned to do.

And, without missing a beat they danced to the song again.

* * *

After breakfast, Liv and Fitz took turns showering; Liv opted to bring Dawson in the shower with her to hurry things along; their little dance party had only ended after they'd listened to virtually every Michael Jackson song through to the early 90's.

As Liv undid Dawson's Bantu knots, Fitz knocked, Teddy in tow; they were both dressed and ready to go.

"Those were cute," Fitz commented, motioning to Dawson's Bantu knots. Liv noticed Dawson's beaming at Fitz in adoration.

"Yeah, Dawson usually only sleeps in them, but she likes to wear them out sometimes. Today's a curly bun kinda day, right Daws?" Liv asked, leaning down to check with Dawson who shook her head in confirmation.

"Yup. I want curls today." Fitz led Teddy by the hand into Dawson's room and pulled him onto his lap as he watched Liv undo each knot and carefully comb out her curls with her fingers.

"Do you ever wear your hair out?" Fitz asked curiously. Dawson shrugged.

"Sometimes, I guess. Some days I like that." Dawson answered. Fitz nodded.

"Teddy's hair is pretty long," Liv commented, noting that Teddy's wayward chestnut colored hair was nearly at the base of his neck. "Or are you trying to grow it out?"

"I like it short," Teddy revealed. "Like a Ninja Turtle." Liv smiled at Teddy.

"Do Ninja Turtles have hair?" Liv inquired next; she'd only briefly watched the show as a child and Dawson was only subjectively interested in the show.

"Well, they're turtles. So maybe not." Teddy replied, looking up at Fitz for an answer. Fitz realized he was being called upon and seemed at a loss for words. He glanced at Liv and mouthed 'thanks a lot.'

Liv tried to suppress her laugh as she started work on Dawson's curly bun.

"Uh. Bud. They don't have hair. Cause they're turtles. But they do have headbands. So they don't need hair." Teddy nodded and almost in the same breath declared,

"I want a headband." Fitz laughed, knowing he'd walked into that one.

"We'll try to get you one while we're out today, buddy."

Liv finished with Dawson's curly bun and took a pick to the curls, trying to get each ringlet in line.

"There, just bring me your spray and then we're done," Liv told Dawson, as she hopped up and scrambled to her hair box, taking a spray bottle full of spritz to keep Dawson's hair moisturized.

As they finished, Liv's phone rang.

Liv glanced at the screen.

"It's my friend, Abby. Why don't you take the kids to the car? I'll be down in a sec." Fitz nodded.

"Come on, guys. Whole Foods awaits!" Fitz announced, holding out both of his hands, Dawson latched on to his right and Teddy clung to his left.

As they left Dawson's room, Liv answered.

"Hey, Abs. What's up? I was going to call you when we'd gotten back from Whole Foods."

"Liv. Is there anyone else who can take Dawson today? Austin got in trouble at his karate tournament, something about an illegal kick. Well anyway I'm going to be in a few meetings trying to clear up the situation, and Andrew is trying to get the boys and my niece from three different locations. He could try to get Dawson on the way, but he's gotta come now."

Liv sighed; something always came up with Abby. Liv only asked her to take Dawson because she didn't want her coming to see Edison, it was a last resort- Liv hated adding another child to Abby's schedule. Dawson wasn't a bad child, but she did need a certain amount of attention, and Abby was always spread thin just between her own kids.

"Don't worry about it," Liv assured, thinking quickly. "I'll figure it out. I hope the illegal kick thing gets resolved." Liv heard Abby let out a relieved breath.

"Oh thank goodness. I had no idea how I was going to work this one out. Thank you. And I'm not even sure how long this hearing is going to be; they're too damn sensitive about this shit, Liv. I'm stressed out." Liv laughed, just as Abby did.

"Yeah, you sound like you need a drink." Liv commented.

"I do. I really do. I should look into that. Maybe between soccer and swim tomorrow I can get a cocktail." Abby laugh was laced with desperation. "Anyway. Enough about my issues. How are you and Fitz doing?"

Liv rolled her eyes; as soon as Abby saw Fitz the previous day, she'd practically thrown Liv into her pantry to get a full coverage of the situation. Liv told her that Dawson and Teddy were friends, and that she and Fitz had only flirted. But she couldn't help telling Abby that she was starting to like Fitz.

"He and Teddy slept over last night," Liv revealed, regretting doing so the moment the words left her lips. Abby squealed in delight on the other end.

"Abby," Liv said sternly.

"Sorry, I'm back. Olivia Pope, you dog." Liv laughed despite herself.

"Nothing happened. Fitz slept in the guest room. You think I'd do that? I barely know him."

"So you're saying nothing happened? Come on, Liv. You're not in the eighth grade."

"We kissed. That's all. We're trying to take it slow. Our kids are involved, we don't want to jump into anything." Liv reported, trying to keep her mind off of the kiss with Fitz; truthfully she'd wanted to do more, and that was precisely why she hadn't. If she ever got that far with Fitz, it wouldn't happen randomly, she vowed. She had to have self-control and stick to her rules. Abby was right, she wasn't an eighth grader, she had Dawson to consider. She really liked Fitz, but she'd never dated with a child, and she didn't want to make a mistake that would screw up her daughter.

"Okay, Liv. Are you going to admit that you're falling for the guy now, or do I have to call back tomorrow?"

Liv checked the doorway quickly before answering. "Maybe I am, Abby. But I'm not jumping into anything. It's been a week. One week. I'm not changing my life around unless I'm sure that we're going to work and that we're right for each other."

Abby ticked her tongue on the other end. "For a woman in love you're being suspiciously rational. But okay. I'm with you. I want this to be right for you too. I'm rooting for Fitz, though. He's a good guy, and Dawson seems to adore him." Liv thought back to a few hours prior, how Dawson had clung to Fitz.

"She does." Liv replied, smiling. "He adores her too."

"And you like Teddy?"

Liv smiled wider just thinking of Teddy the ball of energy. "Yes, I like Teddy. He's the sunniest little boy I've ever met."

"Well. I'm hoping this works out. You guys seem good together."

"Yeah. Abby I've got to go." Liv replied quickly.

"Okay. Pray for me, these people are going to give me angina."

Liv laughed and stood, leaving Dawson's bedroom and preparing to leave. "I will be sure to do that. Talk to you later?"

"Yup. Bye."

* * *

"So she can't take Dawson while I go talk to Edison. I'm going to have to reschedule to when Abby can take her."

"No one else can watch her that you're comfortable with?" Fitz inquired, turning a corner out of the Whole Foods parking lot.

"Well. My Mom is out of the country right now, she does this sabbatical every few years to cleanse her spirit or something. My step-sister has watched Dawson before but she's in the middle of an annoying break up so I'm not counting on her… and that just leaves my Dad and my step-mother."

Liv thought of her father's second wife, Jacqueline who she was friendly enough with, but who she didn't rely on to provide much childcare for Dawson. Her father and mother had divorced when she was a teenager, and her mother moved to Pennsylvania part-time. Her father remarried when Liv was almost eighteen, and Jacqueline's daughter, Emma, who was fourteen at the time they married, all moved into Liv's parents' house. Jacqueline was always nice to Liv, but because they had never lived together, Liv had only left her with Jacqueline while her father was present.

"I didn't know your father was married." Fitz commented.

"Well he is, technically. But they don't live together. My dad lives near me and his wife lives in Maryland." Fitz nodded.

"Well, you could always leave Dawson with me and Teddy. We were just planning on going to see that new Pixar thing." Teddy bounced in his seat excitedly at the mention of the movies.

"Dawson did want to see that Pixar thing… but Fitz, are you sure?" Liv asked, already thinking about how well that would work out.

"I'm with her all day at school, anyway. She and Teddy will have a blast. I'll get them one of those kid meals and we'll watch the Pixar thing. That'll be enough time for you and your Dad to talk to Edison, right?""

"Yeah, more than enough time." Liv replied, somewhat stupefied by how easy it would be to have that option all the time. Liv wasn't used to having help, with her home or with Dawson. She like it, she could get used to it.

"Then that's settled. I'll drop you off with your Dad instead of him picking you up, is that okay?" Liv nodded as she directed Fitz toward her father's house. Liv dialed her Dad quickly; it was nearly two, she had to hurry, her father was always punctual.

"Hey Dad?"

"Olivia. I was headed out of the door. Are you and Dawson ready?"

"Actually I'm getting dropped off to you now. Just me. Dawson's going to a movie."

"Oh, I thought Abby's son. One of 'em had like a fear of the movies or something? Didn't he upchuck in the theater once?"

Liv laughed, remembering how sick Avery had gotten when they'd gone to see _Brave_.

"Yeah. Avery refuses to go back into a movie theater. That's why I'm having my… Fitz take his son and Dawson to see that new Pixar thing."

" _Your_ Fitz, Olivia? Who is Fitz? And I was planning on taking my granddaughter to see that new thing."

"Dad. Don't. I'm down the street, I'll be there in five."

"Alright, Olivia."

Liv hung up and looked over at Fitz. "I'm your Fitz now? Interesting." Liv laughed, blushing as they parked in front of her father's house.

"I didn't know what to call you. You're not just my friend." Fitz smiled as he turned off the car.

"You're right."

Liv looked at Fitz a moment longer before breaking eye contact and turning around to address Dawson.

"Babe? You're going to go see a movie with Teddy and Mr. Fitz, okay? Mommy will see you later, in a few hours. Maybe you me and Pop-Pop can have dinner."

Dawson perked up at the mention of her grandfather.

"Okay, Mommy. I love you." Dawson replied.

"I love you too, babe."

Liv turned back to Fitz and leaned over, kissing his cheek.

"Thank you, you're really saving my ass here."

"No problem. We're going to have a great time. I'll text you when we're there and all that. You just keep your focus on this meeting, okay?" Liv nodded in admiration.

"I will. See you later."

Liv climbed out of the car as Eli emerged from the house. Fitz honked and pulled off the curb in the next moment as Eli met Liv at the end of the walkway.

"So you're trusting your Fitz with Dawson for the day?" Eli asked, skeptically.

"Yes, Dad I am. He'll be fine. He's a parent too, and I trust him completely."

"I don't doubt you when it comes to Dawson." Eli conceded. "So are you ready to get this thing over with?"

"Yes, please. I just want to move on."

Eli nodded and held out his arm for Liv to take. A storm cloud loomed in Liv's mind as they headed toward the coffee shop, and despite how much she tried to remain positive, the closer they came to Edison, all she could feel was impending loss.

* * *

 ** _A/N: This chapter was mostly fluff, but some important things happened! Including Teddy, Fitz, Dawson and Liv bonding. We get more of Liv's family background and some overall cute stuff. "Off The Wall" by Michael Jackson is the song they dance to. I decided to include it because I used to call it 'the ghost song' when I was little. _**

**_Next chapter will have Edison, Edison and more Edison, so get ready. Liv and Fitz are going to start being tested soon, and the blurry line (relationship or friendship) will be defined. Also, we will meet Liv's stepmother and sister as well as Fitz's children and ex-wife. I thought it was important to have a fluffy chapter before some of the crazy characters start making appearances!_**

 ** _Please let me know what you thought in the reviews, and any comments, concerns or predictions are more than welcome!_**

 ** _Avis_**


	6. Fairy Tales & Trust

"Olivia you need to stop shaking,"

Eli urged, reaching down for Liv's unsteady hand. Liv looked over at Eli, tears welling in her eyes as they approached the little strip of stores that the coffee shop was on. Eli stopped them, pulling them to the side of the sidewalk and taking Liv into his arms. Liv buried her face in her father's chest and inhaled his familiar scent; she loved that her father always smelled the same- like spices, the leather bindings of the books in his library and faintly, cigars.

Thinking about the lazy, hot days in the summer that she would spend in his library, sprawled out on the carpet and reading one of the leather bound fairy tales made Liv suddenly grief stricken. She had believed in fairy tales before she met Edison. He seemed like the perfect prince, handsome, tall, charming and warm. Liv felt safe and loved with him, until she didn't anymore. Edison was always slightly possessive, but when she was young and in love, she thought it was just how men were. She wanted to be his, and she couldn't and wouldn't pull herself past the novelty of his actions until he began to change. Or, become more of himself. Liv hadn't decided which.

Liv pulled away from her father and brushed tears from her eyes.

"Dad, do you remember when I used to hang out in your study during the summers?"

Eli still held Liv's shoulders, he smiled as the memory drifted into his own mind. Eli embraced Liv and looked toward the coffee shop. Liv wondered if Edison was already waiting there for them.

"I remember you always wanted to read Cinderella, yes. Even the Grimm's Brother's version. In German, as I recall." Liv grinned Eli continued. "You were always interested in stories where things worked out in the end." Eli surmised.

Liv shook her head in disagreement.

"Dad, I was always interested in stories where the prince stayed a prince. The concept that something could be as good as it seemed… I liked that. I didn't know it until I didn't have it anymore, but I thrived on that concept."

Eli nodded in understanding as Liv laid her head on his shoulder.

"What Edison did to me… he can't do that to Dawson. I won't let him do that to Dawson, Dad."

"Olivia. I need to be frank with you."

Liv pulled back from her father and looked at him seriously.

"If it's about Dawson…"

"It is, Olivia. Edison has a good case for joint custody. All he really needs to do is whine to a judge that you're impeding on his rights as a father and seven out of ten judges will agree with him. Unless there is a documentation of his violence, he will get custody of Dawson."

"Dad. I know what you're asking me. And the answer is no."

"Olivia, if you're reasonable, if you want to keep Dawson, you'll consider it."

"If we go in there and talk to Edison the right way, it won't even be necessary. If we do this right, we can put this to bed."

Liv motioned to the coffee shop.

"And six years from now? He can come back and decide he wants Dawson again and he will win. Do you know why? Because a conversation is not legally binding, Olivia. After today, no matter what he says he's going to do, no matter how much he swears he won't pursue custody, he can march into a courtroom and he can still win. He can say whatever he wants today and win tomorrow. And you know he will, because you know him. I suspect you know that he would sooner lie than tell the truth. He is going to win, Olivia. Unless you use what you have to stop him."

Liv crossed her arms as her father's words made too much sense for comfort.

"But I will go in there and play mediator and I will make sure that I am on your side one hundred percent, if that's what you would like. We can do it. I'm just warning you that he won't stop until he hurts you in the only way he has left."

Liv thought about Dawson, probably getting ready to walk into the movie theater, chatting with Teddy or being carried high on Fitz's shoulders. Liv wanted to keep Dawson as innocent and unaware as possible, and that couldn't happen if there was a custody battle.

"Coming out with what he did to me now won't help. Not like you think it will. If I decide to report what Edison did to me, all those years ago, it will seem like I'm only doing this for custody. It won't mean anything."

Eli gazed at Liv for a moment before sighing heavily, clearly at his wits end with the situation.

"We have two options right now, Olivia. We can go into this situation, knowing full well what the outcome will be, _or_ we can get in front of it and start taking steps to prevent Dawson from being taken. What do you want to do?"

Once again, Liv peered across the street at the coffee shop. Looking back to Eli, Liv twisted her mouth in consideration and wondered if she was possibly making the biggest mistake of her life.

"I want to be happy, Dad."

Eli glanced back at the coffee shop. "Is your happiness in there?"

"I don't think so." Liv replied, trying to hold her head high. "Let's go get my daughter."

* * *

Liv stirred the pot of caramel carefully, looking behind her intermittently to assure that Dawson was still seated at the breakfast nook with Teddy, Fitz and Eli. Liv smiled as she heard Dawson telling Eli about her favorite part of the movie she had seen earlier in the day.

"Her curls? That was your favorite part?" Eli confirmed, as Dawson shook her head in an overly exaggerated way.

"They looked like mine! They were kinda the same color, right Teddy?" Teddy nodded just as Dawson had, and Eli smiled kindly at Teddy.

"Well, what was your favorite part of the movie, Teddy?"

Teddy thought a moment, dropping his head onto his hands. "The boov were cool. I liked their colors,"

Fitz rubbed Teddy's head in encouragement. "He stayed still the entire time,"

Liv turned back to the caramel, and once again felt like the matriarch of the most idyllic family in television. She loved feeling like her life could be this fantastic, that she could be as happy as she always hoped she could be.

She wanted to freeze this moment, where everything was okay and Dawson was oblivious and she could pretend that she was too.

Liv remembered the early days of she and Edison's marriage. He'd bought her a large house in Kent after his promotion at work, back then he'd opted out of a higher paying opportunity that would require travel. Liv could almost see the color of Dawson's nursery- she'd chosen it because it reminded her of the bedroom she'd lived in when she was little; her mother had mixed the paint herself, and she'd never actually told her all of what colors she used. But the color she'd spotted in the swatch book of the decorator was the closest she'd ever seen. Liv had sworn she'd grow old in that house, and once she turned up pregnant, she couldn't wait to raise children there. She'd never envisioned that the house she'd once loved so much would be the site of so much loss and pain.

Liv pulled herself from her absorption in the past. She'd thankfully continued stirring the caramel, and it was done, she cut the heat and turned to the five waiting bowls of vanilla ice cream. She continued stirring the caramel so that it would cool as she addressed the group.

"Are we playing a board game tonight?"

Dawson beamed at her mother's question.

"Yes, Mommy. Can we play Twister?"

Liv laughed as she poured the caramel over the first scoop of ice cream, then continued to do the same for the remaining four.

"What do you think, guys? Twister?"

Liv asked as she set the pot in the sink and ran some water into it so that it would set. She turned and picked up the tray and carried it to the nook, sliding in the booth next to Fitz.

"Everybody take a spoon and a bowl,"

Liv encouraged, as Teddy gleefully reached for his bowl and was immediately silent, savoring the homemade caramel and ice-cream.

"Liv, this is great."

Fitz commended, looking to Teddy expectantly. Teddy met his father's eyes and laughed, realizing what he'd forgotten, he looked over to Liv,

"Thank you Liv!"

"You're very welcome, Teddy."

Liv replied, spooning some of her ice cream into her mouth.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM.

They all turned their heads at the sudden abrasive noise, Dawson jumped and slid under the table immediately. Liv bit her lip worriedly. Dawson's wasn't afraid of an abundance of things, though her fear of lightening was twice as powerful as a normal fear. Dawson must have thought that the loud banging was thunder, but Liv knew that it was her front door, and without answering it, she could guess who was there.

Liv looked over at her father, her eyes full of worry and apprehension. She begged her father to help her wordlessly, and he obliged, sliding out of the other side of the booth and holding out his hand for her to take. Liv stood and intertwined her fingers with his, feeling a sense of calm as she did so.

"Fitz," Liv asked, fighting to keep her voice even. "Can you watch the kids for a bit? We'll be back."

Fitz nodded and asked a million questions with his eyes, but instead of dwelling on where Liv was going and what she was doing, Fitz busied himself with the kids.

Liv squeezed Eli's hand as they walked from the kitchen and into the living room. Liv held her breath as Edison banged on the door again. She hated that she'd forgotten to lock the outer door.

Eli kissed Liv on her forehead and unlocked the front door.

"Let me do the talking, okay?" Eli pleaded, pulling open the door and staring face to face with his former son in law.

"Edison," Eli greeted coldly.

Edison exchanged a glance between Eli and Liv and stepped back from the threshold, allowing Liv and Eli room to step out of the house and close the door behind them.

"Have you lost your mind?" Eli demanded to know, glaring at Edison as if he was the scum of the Earth.

"Did you come here just to terrorize my daughter?"

Edison was cool in the face of Eli's berating. He was dressed in his work clothes, a three piece suit with a peach colored tie which was slightly undone.

"Of course not, Eli. I'm here to see _my_ daughter. I was under the impression that Olivia was going to bring her by the coffee shop today. At the very least I wasn't expecting to be stood up. I just want cooperation."

Liv shivered at his calm tone, it was the same tone that he'd used with her a million times.

 _Are you trying to embarrass me?_

 _Do you think I like yelling at you like this?_

 _Love does make us do crazy things, sweetheart._

Liv wanted to be angry with him, like she had been when he'd showed up at the hospital, but as she was swimming in the same emotions that she'd had when he'd first hurt her, she visibly shrunk in front of him. She almost felt like her old self, she hated that he was able to affect her so much, it was almost like he'd never left.

"We want you to cooperate, and understand where Olivia is coming from. What you did to her, Edison. I'm just surprised that you thought coming back here at all was a good idea."

Edison smiled at Eli as if he'd just told a joke.

"Eli, we both know that Olivia will never talk about anything that happened between us. Aside from her pride she has no leverage. She didn't report anything, didn't tell anyone and she has no proof."

Liv could hardly be surprised that Edison was throwing what he did to her in her face. She squeezed Eli's hand once more before dropping it and clearing her throat. Edison finally looked over at her, apparently enjoying the back and forth that he and Eli had been having.

"Edison, you're not taking my daughter." Liv told him, locking him into her eyes so that he knew she was serious.

Edison didn't break the contact, but he laughed again.

"Are you trying to rattle me? I'm not afraid of you. I want her to know me too, Liv. Is that so horrible?"

Liv crossed her arms. "Yes, that would mean that she would be alone with you, she would know who you are, and that's not a risk I'm willing to take. You're not hurting my daughter."

Edison stepped back as if Liv had slapped him.

"You think I'm going to hurt Dawson?"

"Yes, Edison. You have hurt me so many times. You will hurt Dawson. It's history, and history repeats itself. I'm not going to let you take her. If you try to take her, I'm going to go on record with what you did."

"You can't go on record or file a report or anything like that, because you didn't go to the police when it happened. Had you done that, we would be having a different conversation right now, but you didn't. And you can't stop me from being her father. I'm going to take you to court, is that what you want? I'll take you to family court and you can tell them what happened, of course it won't matter at that point because _you have no proof_."

Liv was determined not to cry in front of Edison, she knew he was right, and she'd told her father so. Had she gone to the police the night it happened, she would be able to keep him away, but because she hadn't, she had nothing to use against him.

"We can share her, Liv. She can stay with me weekends or… whatever. We could even try to get together as a family a few times a week. Dawson needs that. She needs to see us trying to make our family work. If you would just let go of the past and accept that I'm going to get custody with or without your blessing, we'll all be a lot better off."

 _The fucking nerve_. Liv thought, her hands shaking now for an entirely different reason. She stepped forward again, getting close enough to Edison to punch him, which she had half the mind to do.

"You call your lawyers and you stack up a bullshit excuse about why you were gone for six years of our daughter's life and I'll be there. I'll have your fucking _proof_. I'll have all I need to not only keep full custody of my daughter, but also to throw you in jail like the fucking criminal that you are. Now get away from my house before I call the police."

Liv managed this all the while mocking Edison's calm tone tactic.

Edison didn't move a muscle, which prompted Liv to fish her phone from her pocket and dial 911 without a moment's hesitation. Edison watched her press the phone to her ear and waited as the phone rang once and a woman answer.

"911, what is your emergency?"

"Hello? I need you to send a police officer, my ex-husband won't leave my house and he's angry and terrorizing me,"

"Hold on one moment, ma'am." The woman replied.

Edison shook his head as he retreated, stepping down from the patio and heading down the path without another word.

"Ma'am? We can have a patrol car to your location in a matter of minutes,"

"He's just left. I think he knew I was calling the police,"

"We should send a patrol man just in case."

"It's not necessary," Liv insisted. "Thank you for your time."

Liv hung up her phone and turned to her father.

"I think I was possessed back there," Liv confided, feeling shaky all over again.  
"I don't have the proof I said I did, Dad. There's nothing, I didn't tell anyone the night it happened, I just took Dawson and went to Abby's."

Liv remembered that night like it was yesterday. She remembered stumbling into Dawson's nursery, stuffing her diaper bag full and getting in her car. She even remembered almost swerving off of the road in the haze of what had just happened. She had never been that irresponsible as a mother, never. Thankfully, Dawson had been sound asleep, and she didn't wake until they were at Abby's house, and she had started crying, the reality of what had happened to her hitting in waves.

Liv had vowed to never put Dawson back in a situation where anything like that could occur again.

"Is there any way you could get it?" Eli questioned.

Liv shrugged, out of ideas before she even started. "I guess I could ask Abby what she remembers from that night, if anything. She was there with me, maybe she remembers something that I don't."

"It doesn't hurt to ask her," Eli agreed, "But let me ask you something,"

Liv raised an eyebrow, sure of where her father's line of questioning was headed.

"You want to know what I'm doing with Fitz," Liv guessed, crossing her arms again, her stance defensive.

"You read my mind. It's not an attack, Olivia. It's a question. What are you doing with him? Sure, he's a good guy, I can tell and I've only known him a few hours. But are you planning on marrying him? Becoming a stepmother to that little boy? Do you have any idea how much stress that adds to your life? Aside from Edison, you have commitments at work, they're talking about making you a partner and that means more hours. Work, marriage, two kids, a berating ex-husband. That sounds stressful to me, Olivia. And too much to take on right away."

Liv was irritated with her father's realism, he always took the initiative to rain on her parade.

"I'm not planning on marrying Fitz,"

"I hear a 'yet' at the end of that statement." Eli poked, Liv shook her head.

"Dad, I like him, a lot. More than I should because not only is he my daughter's kindergarten teacher, I've also only known him for a few days. I don't want to rush into anything, and the way I'm feeling emotionally, it's not a good idea for me to rush into anything. And yes, I'm getting some rare happiness from playing house with Fitz and Teddy. Dawson likes them too, she likes having someone act like her father. Why shouldn't we enjoy this? It's not like we get this every day. I hate that you're doing this to me, Dad. I hate that you're bringing up everything I'd potentially be doing wrong before I've even taken a step in either direction. _I don't need this_. I need you to be here for me, I don't need your criticism and I definitely don't need you to belittle me or my feelings."

Before Liv could say any more, Eli had tried to embrace her, and she almost let him, but decided that she didn't want his comfort at the last minute.

"I need you, Dad. I need you to not be a jerk to me. Edison has provided enough of that for a lifetime."

Eli didn't try to embrace Liv again, which Liv was grateful for.

"If I want to marry Fitz, if we all move in together, and become a family, I don't want you telling me that I'm ruining my life or Dawson's life. I need you to trust me. When I decide what I want to do, it's because it's best for both of us. You said you don't doubt me when it comes to Dawson. Don't doubt me when it comes to me either."

Eli conceded wordlessly, ushering Liv into his arms.

"I'm sorry," He apologized, squeezing her hard. "I'm always trying to do what's best for you. That's all I want."

Liv hugged her father back, and smiled weakly at him upon their separation.

"I know, Dad."

Eli shuffled his feet, his sneakers scraping the cement patio as he pushed his hands in his pockets.

"I'm going to get going. I'll say goodbye to Dawson and head out. Can I get her from school on Wednesday? I'll take her to my spades game and then to dinner."

"Sounds good, Dad." Liv agreed, leading Eli back into the house.

They entered the living room to see Fitz orchestrating a Twister game between Teddy and Dawson. They were intertwined, with Dawson doing a backbend across the game mat each limb stretched impressively for her small stature. Teddy was surprisingly flexible, though he was crouched under Dawson, with his moving room limited, and either hand on either side of the game mat.

"Hi Mommy!" Dawson called, attempting to wave at Liv with her eyebrows. Liv giggled and glanced behind her to see her Dad's bemused expression.

"Well, I'm heading home, lovebug," Eli announced, as Dawson's happy expression flattened.

"Pop-Pop, stay! Play twister!" Dawson requested, a pout settled onto her lips.

"Pop-Pop will see you on Wednesday. I'm picking you up from ballet, okay? We'll go to spades and to eat and we'll have _so_ much fun."

" _How_ much fun?" Dawson asked, perking up at their signature goodbye.

" _Too_ much fun," Eli assured, winking at Dawson and waving at Fitz and Teddy.

"Have a good night, Fitz. See you later, Teddy," said Eli, wrapping Liv in a hug.

"Bye, Dad." Liv mumbled, having officially had her fill of heart-to-hearts for the evening. She just wanted to have fun with Fitz, Dawson and Teddy. She wanted fun.

Liv let her dad out and locked the door behind him, setting the alarm, thinking of Edison and his intrusion and heading back to Fitz and the kids.

"Did you wash behind your ears?" Liv inquired leaning over to meet Dawson's eyes and raising her eyebrow in faux skepticism. Dawson giggled as Liv leaned back up and continued to part another section of her hair. Liv spritzed it with Argon oil and started to twist it into a Bantu knot.  
"Yes, Mommy." Dawson answered, assuring Liv. "I have school tomorrow?" Dawson asked. Liv looked down at Dawson's small ankle, freshly bandaged after her bath.

"No, Lovie. You have school on Monday. It's still Saturday."

"What are we doing tomorrow?"

"I dunno. What do you want to do?"

Dawson considered as Liv twisted another knot. "Are Teddy and Mr. Fitz going to live here now?"

Liv bit her lip as she thought about Fitz and Teddy, who were in the bathroom down the hallway. Fitz was sitting in on Teddy's bath. They hadn't even discussed it, after Twister and a snack, Liv had taken Dawson to her ensuite to bathe and almost in tandem, Fitz had gone in the main bathroom to get Teddy ready for bed.

"How would you feel about that, babe?"

Liv asked seriously, nervous for Dawson's reply. Even a six year old could see that the impromptu sleep-over situation was weird. Liv didn't want to suggest anything, because truthfully she enjoyed having Teddy and Fitz sleep over. It was almost past natural to live together, but Liv fought her gut on that one.

"I don't know," Dawson finally admitted. "I like them here Mommy. But what about my Dad?"

Liv felt her stomach tighten in fear.

"Your dad, babe?" Liv asked, unsure of whether or not she wanted Dawson to clarify.

"Yeah. Will he get mad if we live together? What if you marry Mr. Fitz? Will he be mad?"

Liv wanted to be relieved, but she now had to consider her daughter's words. She had a point, and Liv hadn't even considered it. Edison had hinted at wanting to be a family again, and he had no idea that, aside from their history in the way, there was another person too. Fitz didn't exist to Edison, and once he did, how would Edison react? The amount of damage he could do as a result of a bruised ego knew no bounds.

"He's an adult, babe. And if you like the idea of Fitz and Teddy living here, you are allowed to like it. You shouldn't worry about your Dad. He'll be okay."

Liv finished Bantu knotting Dawson's hair, and pulled her into her arms, they sat on the edge of Dawson's bed in an embrace.

"I like that, Mommy. I like Mr. Fitz and Teddy and twister and ice-cream. I like it."

"I do too. But if they lived here, it wouldn't be all fun all the time. Sometimes Fitz will have to be like I am, and you know how I tell you to do things that you don't like, but you know I'm doing it because it's good for you?"

"Yes,"

"Well Fitz would do that too. He'd be like another me." Liv explained, waiting on pins and needles for her daughter to give a clear verdict.

"So… he'd be like my Dad?"

Liv closed her eyes in defeat, why did Edison have to exist? Now she related Fitz with Edison.

"I don't mean like my Dad. I mean… he'd be here all the time? And he'd tuck me in? And put me on his shoulders so I can see stuff?"

Liv nearly melted right on the spot.

"Yes, Dawson. He'd do all that."

"Knock, knock. I have one Teddy, reporting for bed," Fitz announced, knocking on Dawson's door where the custom plastic letters spelled out her name.  
Teddy hopped over to Dawson and poked her on her nose, causing Dawson to swat at him playfully.

"Time for bed?" Liv asked Teddy, who shook his head. "Okay… how about you two get in bed and I read you a story?" Teddy smiled at Liv and went to lay in Dawson's bed without further complaint.

"I'm going to head to the living room and give you three some alone time," said Fitz, walking over to Teddy and kissing his forehead, then doing the same for Dawson who still sat in Liv's lap.

"Okay, story time," Liv clapped her hands, examining the large built-in bookcase of Dawson's in her play corner. "What are we in the mood for?" She asked the kids, once Dawson had settled into her bed next to Teddy.

"Ninja turtles!" Teddy called, doing an action move while still lying in bed.

Liv chuckled as she took 'The Tortoise and the Hare' down from the middle shelf.

"I'll see if I can compromise,"

* * *

"They took so long to get asleep," Liv told Fitz as she descended the stairs and walked into the living room. Liv suddenly felt over dressed in her jeans and sweater as she took in Fitz, dressed in sweatpants and a white t-shirt.

"You changed?" Liv gathered, grinning at how relaxed he looked, seated on her couch with the TV remote in his hand.

"I did. I wasn't sure if you wanted me to go home and pick Teddy up in the morning or stay, so I thought sweats would be best for either."

Liv kicked her foot as she stood there, still grinning at Fitz's thoughtfulness.

"It's probably the right thing for me to send you home," Liv admitted, "But… I don't want you to go home."

Fitz watched as Liv approached him and sat down next to him on the couch, swinging her legs under her to cuddle into him.

"You don't?" Fitz asked.

"No, I want you to stay and I'm thinking that we should sleep down here,"

Fitz chuckled.

"Okay, well that's a relief, because I thought you were going to take advantage of me and demand that I sleep in your bed. I was going to tell you that I'm not ready."

Liv threw her head back in laughter as Fitz joined her, tickling her tummy for a few seconds for good measure.

Liv wretched Fitz's hands from ticking her and grinned at him appreciatively.

"It's been a hard day. And I'm glad I'm ending it with you,"

Liv told him, meaning every word.

Fitz brushed a stray strand of hair behind Liv's ear and locked eyes with her.

"I'm sorry your day was hard, but I'm glad to be here with you too. I'm glad that I'm happy, even though I'm very confused," Fitz joked.

Liv smiled, still holding one of his hands.

"You're confused because… this is the second consecutive night that you and Teddy have stayed here and we haven't even discussed what this is?"

"I guess I am… but I'm not trying to rush you into anything, Liv. Not a relationship, not a label. Nothing. As long as you're okay with us being here, and I know you have feelings for me, then I'm okay with the gray area."

Liv played with the tips of his fingers, trying to ignore the balloon that was swelling inside her with joy.

 _What have I done to deserve this man?_ Liv wondered.

"I don't want a gray area. I want to date you. I want our children to get used to sleeping together… maybe eventually living together full time. I want possibilities that don't make me cringe. I want you and I want Teddy. Dawson does too. She told me. And… if we're being honest, I've wanted that since the hospital. But I couldn't let myself want that."

Fitz took Liv's hips and eased her closer to him, kissing her lips slowly, then sucking on her bottom lip until she groaned laboriously into his mouth, Liv broke the kiss and scooted back away from him, her heartbeat raising. She needed to tell Fitz before they went any further. Liv reached out her hand for his, which he allowed her, and she continued playing with the tips of his fingers.

"Fitz. I want a relationship with you. But I'm so scared. You scare me, this scares me. Any person that could make me feel so much in such a short amount of time… I don't know. I feel like we could become a real family and that we would be happy. But I'm just so _scared._ "

Fitz took both of her hands, stroking the undersides gently and with care.

"What are you scared of, Liv?" Fitz asked, trying to coax the truth out of her.

"I'm scared you'll hurt me. That you'll break me into a thousand little pieces and … that you'll leave me like I was never anything to you at all. I don't want to love you. If I love you, you can hurt me. And if you hurt me, Fitz. If you hurt me… the way I feel about you, I'll never be the same."

Fitz paused, absorbing what Liv said, and kissed her nose in tender surprise.

"You… love me?" Liv felt her eyes brimming with tears. Liv looked into Fitz's eyes.

"I do. I've been pretending that I don't. Because it's the right thing, but… I do."

"And I love you. I thought that we were taking it slow,"

"We still can. I still need us to. I have a lot of unresolved trust issues, Fitz. I'm afraid that you'll transform into a monster, and I don't want to think that of you, because my gut is telling me that you won't, my gut is telling me that you're always this kind and thoughtful and that you love me and my daughter and… that we're going to be good together. But my head is just… making me unsure."

"Because of what he did to you?" Fitz surmised. Liv nodded tentatively.

"He… caused me so much pain that I didn't even think I could love anyone again."

Fitz peered into Liv's eyes, as if he was searching for answers that she didn't want him to know.

"What did he do to you, Olivia?"

Liv's grief spilled over at the prospect of finally having to say what had happened to her aloud.

But, it was Fitz, and his warm blue eyes made her feel like whatever had happened was already understood. All she had to do was speak.

Liv took a deep breath.

"He… He. I-I… D-did you know I was pregnant? About a month after Dawson was born… I got pregnant again. And I rationalized that this was what was supposed to happen. I already loved Dawson a-and I knew that I'd love that baby. But I'd annoyed Edison. He hated Dawson's crying so much that he made me take her down to the basement whenever she woke up in the middle of the night, which was all the time. She was really colicky. It started when she was three or four weeks and by the time I found out I was pregnant, it hadn't gone away. I was… overwhelmed and alone. Edison always got up early to run and go to work and… one night Dawson was really fussy, and she was running a fever and I was up and down the back steps to get bottles and cool cloths, anything I could think of to lower her fever. It was really late, and I brought Dawson upstairs with me so that I didn't have to keep going up and down the stairs."

Liv stopped, her breath caught in her throat as her tears were flowing freely, Fitz held her hands securely, and once she'd stopped, Fitz scooted closer to her and took her into his arms.

"I should have taken her downstairs. She just started screaming and… I couldn't stop her. He came stomping down the stairs and started screaming, and he upset Dawson, so I went upstairs to put her down. I didn't want him to hurt her while trying to hurt me-"

"He hit you before, Liv?" Fitz interjected, his tone unlike Liv had heard before.

"Once. He was drunk and I hit him back. I thought that it was a onetime thing, and that makes me feel even more stupid. I trusted him and even though I put Dawson into her bed, I didn't think that he'd hurt me beyond shaking me. I just _knew_ he wouldn't hit me. I was two months pregnant, I swore that he was just going to shake me and go to bed. I didn't think… I didn't even go there. He just slapped me, and kept smacking me until I couldn't stand anymore, so I got onto the floor. He told me I was stupid, and asked me why I couldn't control Dawson. He said that I didn't deserve to be a mother, and that if I was going to have another baby like Dawson who just cried all the time, that I shouldn't have another baby."

Liv felt the same hallow feeling as she'd felt when Edison had started to drag her, and she held onto Fitz for support.

 _It's almost over_ , she'd told herself then.

"I was at the top of the stairs, maybe he didn't know. Maybe he didn't care. But I tried to get up, I started to swing at him, and he just pushed me. I remember seeing his face. He looked surprised, like he didn't know he could do that, but he watched me, he watched me tumble and I felt myself landing, hard on the concrete at the bottom. I… don't remember much after that. I knew I'd lost the baby, and I just needed to get out. I waited until he'd gone back to bed to get Dawson and head to Abby's. But… I don't remember much of what I did once we got there."

Fitz didn't try to tell Liv that it was okay, he didn't assure her that she was safe. He showed her that she was instead, and by the time she'd fallen asleep, and Fitz kissed her puffy eyelids before pulling a blanket over them, he was intent on ensuring that she never had to be told that everything was okay again; he wanted her to know.

* * *

Liv walked into Abby's office on Monday morning, thankful that her best friend didn't work that far away from her.

"Liv?" Abby asked, standing up, straightening her skirt and embracing Liv quickly. "This is an amazing surprise, I wanted to get my hands on you to see how you and Fitz were doing." Liv grinned back at Abby, thinking of how amazing it had been to wake up in his arms the previous morning.

"We're good. We're… better than good, if that's possible." Liv divulged.

Liv sat down as Abby did. "It is possible, it's very possible. If you can believe it, Andrew and I are still so good that I hardly believe it sometimes. Considering we've had an illegal kick hearing, two parent teacher conferences for behavior and a root canal in our mix, I'd say its above board."

Liv laughed, feeling an excited tightening in her belly as she imagined having those same issues with Fitz. Despite the situations being problematic in themselves, Liv imagined having fun navigating them with Fitz.

"So enough about me, what's new? What brings this visit? Are you and Fitz finally an item?" Abby asked, tilting her head to the side in a curious way.

"We are. We decided Saturday night that we would try."

Abby raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I was just fishing, that is the last thing I would have guessed after our conversation."

Liv shrugged, feeling like their conversation had been so long ago, when it really was only the day before last.

"A lot happened. Edison showed up at the house, and threatened me with a custody hearing. My lawyer actually called me not that long ago and told me that Edison is going forward with it. The hearing is in a month. And… yeah. I've officially crammed about a week of occurrences into one day. Fitz and I had this long talk, and I told him what Edison did to me, and why he left."

Abby sat back in her desk chair, she looked overwhelmed, and Liv could sympathize. It was almost as exhausting recounting it as it had been living it.

"You told him everything? All the details?"

"Everything that I remember. A lot of what happened after I got to your house is a blur."

Abby bit her nail in consideration.

"You don't remember going to the hospital?" Abby asked plainly.

"Hospital? That night? No. I didn't, did I?"

Abby nodded. "I took you myself, you were bleeding. They gave you this stuff to knock you out because you were hysterical and they told me that you were in a lot of pain. They did the procedure… and I took you home that next afternoon. Are you sure you don't remember?"

Liv covered her mouth in disbelief.

"Abby. I don't remember that at all. I know I told you… but I didn't remember filing a report or anything…"

Abby sat up again, her expression somber, yet confused.

"You never filed a report. I wanted you to, Lord knows that fucker deserved and deserves a lot more than prison, but you begged me to leave it alone, and I couldn't force you so I let it go."

"And you're sure we went to the hospital? Did you tell them why I was there? Did you tell them what happened?"

"I told them that your husband knocked you down a flight of stairs, you bet your ass I did. I was so upset that night I almost took your keys and Andrew's 9. But I decided not to leave you. And once you were awake, they asked you questions, which you didn't answer, so I did for you. They have your injuries and procedure on record."

"Abby… do you know what this means?" Abby stared at Liv for a long pause, until the lightbulb flicked on in her head.

"Did we just get that fucker?" Abby asked for confirmation, a smugness settling onto her face.

"Yes," Liv replied with conviction. "We did."

* * *

 ** _I decided to rearrange the way this chapter was going to go. I wanted to get a lot of things about Edison out, so it would be very clear (other than the obvious six year absence) why Liv didn't want Edison to have any sort of contact with Dawson. Previously, I made it seem as though Liv wanted to be sure that Edison wasn't going to just leave again before she allowed him access to Dawson, but in this chapter it's clear that his absence is just the beginning of Liv's problems with Edison. Finally Liv and Fitz have admitted their feelings and are officially dating, however their problems don't stop there (they never do!) Next chapter we'll meet Liv's family and Mellie, Jerry and Karen. This chapter ended up being about Liv and her feelings, as well as her confrontation with Edison, and I didn't think it best to overload this chapter. Next chapter will have some fluff and some more of Liv and Fitz's blossoming relationship, as well as some background on why Fitz and Mellie divorced._**

 ** _Let me know how you felt about Liv's marriage to Edison, and also any predictions you have for the upcoming chapter! I'd love to hear your thoughts!_**

 ** _Thanks for reading!_**

 ** _Avis_**


	7. Sick Days & Decisions

Liv had a million things to do, starting with getting Dawson up and ready for school. The entire week had been a blur; and though she and Fitz had decided, for the time being, to cease the sleepovers, their schedules were intertwined. Liv took Teddy to swimming and Dawson to dance. Liv was also being fast-tracked to becoming partner, a responsibility she wasn't even entirely sure she wanted. She was more than ambitious, and she'd worked harder than anyone else in her department, but with all of the issues she had going on, and the additional time with Fitz and Teddy, Liv wasn't sure how she'd manage it.

Liv twisted her mouth in irritation as she tried on yet another pair of the work slacks she'd picked up in a hurry from Macy's during her lunch hour the previous day. She hadn't had time to try them on, as she'd had to grocery shop for the dinner for her step-mother and sister. Now that she had them on, she realized that she'd picked up a size too large in one of the pairs, and the other pair she was nearly swimming in. Liv had bought the pants so that she wouldn't have to do any of the laundry that had been overflowing from her wicker hamper, but it seemed inevitable.

Giving up on the slacks entirely, Liv pulled a pair of cable-knit stockings and her favorite black cotton dress, which somehow fit her like a glove and managed to flatter her nearly as much as it comforted her. Liv noted that she'd turned the dress inside out on the hanger, to indicate that she'd already worn it, these were the little reminders she left for herself. Ignoring that the dress had already been worn, Liv pulled it on and checked her reflection in the mirror.

 _At least it looks clean_ , Liv rationalized as she twisted a handful of her two day old twist-out. She typically had cooperative hair, and while she straightened it, sometimes daily, she couldn't manage to stretch a twist out beyond two days.

 _Whatever_. Liv scowled, starting a thick braid at the edge of her hairline, and braiding it across to form a crown. Liv secured the braid on the other side with a bobby pin and pulled the curlier portion of her hair into a low ponytail.

Rolling her eyes at her reflection, Liv left her room, deciding against putting on her stockings; _Dawson's nails need to be clipped_ , Liv remembered, she should have done it over the weekend, but she'd been less focused lately. Dawson had ruined her share of Liv's clothing, whether it was the chance nosebleed on her favorite ash-colored sweater, or the trail of green snot on the only clean pair of light wash jeans she'd owned at the time. Dawson's nails could be lethal, and Liv really didn't have time to go deep diving in her hamper.

Liv leaned in the doorframe of Dawson's bedroom and grinned, crossing her arms as she watched her favorite person sleep. Dawson was intertwined in her sheets, reminiscent of a cyclone, her appendages splayed in every direction. One of her plump Bantu knots had unwound in her sleep, resulting in a curly tendril that appeared electrified, as it stood at attention. Dawson's room was still dark, and despite the leaks of light, Dawson slept almost as soundly as she would have in the dead of night.

"Babe." Liv called, walking over to her daughter's bed and sitting on the edge. Liv kissed Dawson's forehead and watched her eyelids flinch slightly, but she didn't stir, her plump lips parted slightly, as her breathing continued to deepen.

"Love, love. It's time to get up." Liv smoothed the soft hairs at Dawson's hairline, and finally Dawson opened her eyes, squinting up at her mother blankly, not quite coherent.

"I don't feel good." Dawson grumbled, pushing her lower lip out and rocking backward to lay on her back.

Liv mirrored her expression.

"Awe. Lovie. Is it your stomach?"

Dawson shrugged and crossed her arms.

"I just don't feel good. Do I have to go to school?"

Liv crinkled her brow in surprise, Dawson rarely wanted to miss school. Most recently, Dawson had all but pitched a fit when Olivia had kept her home from school for a day because of her ankle sprain. Dawson loved to learn, and she liked seeing Teddy and Fitz every day.

"Is it that bad? What hurts?"

Liv pressed, hoping Dawson would tell her what was really up, but Dawson just avoided her eyes and instead looked up at her ceiling, where she'd stuck tiny luminescent stars.

"Mostly my head."

Dawson finally admitted. Liv stared at her for a long moment.

"You have a headache? Or are you dizzy?"

"Dizzy." Dawson replied firmly.

Liv knew that Dawson was lying, but she couldn't understand why. They were already going to be late for work and school, and Liv had several meetings, the first starting at ten. She couldn't possibly take Dawson to work, but sending her to school wouldn't work either, she'd just complain to Fitz.

"You want to stay home?" Liv guessed. Dawson reacted slowly, as if she was agonizing over the decision. Tentatively, as if she was only really agreeing to appease Olivia, she shrugged.

"Can I go with you?"

Dawson asked this hopefully, but reigned in her interest.

"Babe. I have a lot of work to do today. If I take you, you'd have to be really good, and you'd be resting on the couch in my office, you can't run around to all the receptionist's desks or anything like you normally do when you're there. You'd be resting."

Dawson looked away from Liv, her eyes bugging out as if she was alarmed.

"Can I bring the iPad?"

Liv rolled her eyes. She was a sucker, and Dawson knew it.

"Yes, you can bring the iPad. But you need to sleep some too, since you're so sick."

Dawson nodded shortly, as if saying that she accepted the offer.

"Do I have to change?" Dawson asked next, motioning to her lilac purple jersey pajamas.

"Put on your heavy socks and UGGS. And you can stay in your PJs." Dawson grinned, a spitting image of the Cheshire cat.

Liv had been conned, but she reasoned with herself that Dawson could really be sick, at least slightly. If she felt off enough to speak up about it, it was possible that she was really feeling sick. If Dawson was completely faking it, at least she got to spend the day with her daughter. She missed that. Fitz and Teddy were more than pleasant company, but Liv didn't want to forget their little family; it was little but it was great.

"Ten minutes, babe." Liv warned, standing and walking to the doorway. "Be ready."

Dawson nodded seriously and threw her legs over the side of her bed.

Liv hurried back to her room and continued to dress, sitting on the chaise at the foot of her bed and pulling on her stockings. She stood and debated with herself for at least a minute and a half about wearing the stilettos she normally wore with the dress. She would have to tote her six-year old around on her hip, just so Dawson could keep up with her charade, and she knew it. Liv didn't like to coddle Dawson by carrying her too much, but she was so small that carrying her now barely differed from carrying her at age four. Liv pulled her stilettos on anyway and shoved her diamond studs into her ears. She didn't have time to apply mascara or do anything more spectacular than spritzing some perfume on.

She'd given up on being camera ready long ago, as Dawson appeared in her room, in her small dark brown UGG boots and charcoal gray jacket. It was the middle of November, and while it wasn't so cold outside that Liv would insist on making Dawson wear her parka, she was concerned that her PJs were too thin to brave the 40-something degree weather outside.

"Get the iPad please, and your headphones." Liv requested, pausing in the middle of her room, trying to mentally track down her briefcase.

"And the charger?" Dawson asked, one foot out of the door.

"Nuh-uh, missy. Whatever battery life it has is what you've got. You're sleeping some of the time, remember?"

Dawson shrugged.

"Are you going to call Mr. Fitz?"

Liv cursed to herself.

"I'll call him on the way."

"Okay. And Mommy?"

"Yes, babe?" Liv asked, scanning the room, wondering if she'd forgotten anything.

"Are you going to get me breakfast on the way, or…?"

Liv shot Dawson a serious look; breakfast had slipped her mind. She'd been planning on fixing Dawson some quick Cream of Wheat, because it was a chilly morning, but Dawson being sick was not part of her plan.

"We'll pick something up on the way, I promise. Get your things together."

Liv checked her rearview mirror and noticed the time, in green pixilated font: 8:15. They weren't making bad time, she'd have some time to get Dawson settled before she had to go off to her meeting.

"How does a breakfast sandwich and a water sound, babe?"

Dawson smiled encouragingly, but didn't reply verbally, as she kicked her legs in her car seat.

"Mommy?"

"Yes?"

Liv asked, pulling into a spot outside of a convenience store close by her work.

"Do you think I'm small?"

Liv's eyes widened in surprise as an awkward silence settled between them.

"Babe… why are you asking? Did someone tell you that?"

Dawson blinked, not answering.

"I'm small too, for an adult, you know."

Liv offered, trying to understand her daughter's question. She'd probably forgotten about the doctor's appointments Liv had made, when she turned four and she still hadn't grown much. Liv was afraid that Dawson had a bone deficiency or rickets. However, Dawson's pediatrician had assured Olivia that Dawson was normal, in every development. She wasn't deficient in any minerals or bone density, and while she was short for her age, he saw no reason to run more tests on her.

"Are you?"

Dawson asked weakly.

"Yes, Mommy's only 5'2. That's small for an adult woman. Most adult women are 5'5 and taller. So I'm small too."

Dawson twisted her mouth, clearly in inner conflict.

"Did someone make fun of you, Daws? You can tell me, you know."

Dawson paused, then started trying to unbuckle herself, Liv unbuckled her own seatbelt and went to the backseat to help Dawson out. As soon as Liv released her, Dawson jumped into her arms, burying her head in the crook of Olivia's neck. Liv melted instantly, hugging her daughter back tightly, and shutting the back door. Liv took her purse and locked the car as she walked into the store with Dawson welded to her. Dawson didn't raise her head as Liv pulled two bottles of water out of one of the refrigerated cases. Liv asked Dawson if she wanted cereal and fruit instead of a sandwich, and she agreed. Liv pulled down a container of apple cinnamon oatmeal and a small cup of pineapples for Dawson and a sausage, egg and cheese sandwich and a pack of grapes for herself.

As Liv payed, Dawson lifted her head slightly and kissed Liv on her jawbone.

"I love you, Mommy. I'm glad we're both small."

Liv held Dawson tighter as she replied.

"Me too, babe."

Liv payed for their breakfast and carried Dawson back to the car. Dawson went into her car seat willingly.

Liv pulled out of the parking lot, and drove down the street and into the parking garage for her office building.

They arrived on the floor of Olivia's office, Dawson clung to Liv again, her bag containing her iPad, headphones, baby pillow and prized elephant strapped to her back securely. Normally, visiting Liv's office was a treat for Dawson; she loved to interact with Olivia's co-workers, and most everyone had time to devote to Dawson and her prying, but endearing questions. Olivia's secretary, a middle aged woman, with a granddaughter on the way, Ivy, doted on Dawson more than anyone else in the office did. Ivy was more than surprised to see Dawson fastened to Liv's front.

"Well, hello Miss Dawson."

Ivy cooed, standing from her desk that was situated in front of Liv's office.

Dawson pulled her head up from her mother's neck as Liv turned Dawson to the side, so that she would be face to face with Ivy.

"Hi, Ms. Ivy."

Dawson replied, her voice almost lackluster. Ivy frowned at Dawson and looked up at Liv.

"Is our girl alright today?" Ivy asked.

Liv hoisted Dawson up, as she felt her legs sliding down her waist, despite how tight Dawson was trying to hold on.

"Dawson's just feeling a little out of it," Liv assured. "She's going to be resting in my office for today. I was just going to ask you if you'd mind looking in on her while I'm in the meetings I have this morning. She should be alright, she has her iPad and she needs to rest, but…"

Ivy had started to wave off Liv's request impatiently.

"Of course I'll keep an eye on her. Hopefully she rests up, maybe it won't be so hard for her to get back to sleep since she's only been awake for a bit."

Liv nodded, _Wishful thinking_.

"I just have a few things I needed you to take care of for me,"

Liv started, motioning for Ivy to follow her. Liv opened her office door and immediately shut the blinds, the brilliant sunshine of the morning being replaced by a moody ambiance.

"I wanted you to call Fitz. Can you tell him that Dawson is sick today? I had planned to call him once I was out of the meetings, but I don't want him to worry until then. Also, I marked on your call sheet the clients that I need to bring in for another evaluation. And my step-mother and sister are coming for dinner tonight, can you confirm for seven thirty?"

Liv finished, feeling the slight twinge of guilt that she always did when giving Ivy her morning orders. Ivy was a godsend- she was a wizard with doctor's appointments, organizing travel plans and kept Liv's professional life in order via her own color coded system, so that Liv would know at a glance what her days would consist of. Ivy made her job almost a hundred times easier.

Ivy nodded, not even taking down notes.

"I just wanted to confirm that you'll be out of the office early on the 6th?"

Ivy asked, clearly not on solid footing with the mysterious out of office notification that Liv had sent her more than a week ago. Liv was more than candid about most things, and she rarely hid anything from Ivy. But telling Ivy that Edison was taking her to court on December 6th was not going to happen.

"Yup, I'll be out all day. I could do an early meeting the next day, if absolutely necessary. But the accounts I've been working with will be long over by then."

Liv confirmed, setting Dawson gingerly down on the suede sofa. The office had come with a leather sofa, but Dawson hated it, and Liv found it far too pretentious for her needs, and had it replaced with the suede one that Dawson preferred much more.

"Are you eating now, Daws?"

Liv asked, setting the food down on her dark wood coffee table. Dawson slid forward and took the cup of pineapples. Liv nodded as she picked up the cup of oatmeal.

"I need to run to the kitchen to make this for her,"

Liv told Ivy, starting toward the door, but Ivy took the cup before she'd gotten too far.

"Don't worry about it, you get ready for the meeting. I meant to tell you that I had Dawson's comforter dry-cleaned; it was a little musty."

Liv smiled in appreciation.

"Thank you, Ivy."

Ivy nodded and left with Dawson's oatmeal as Liv crossed her office to retrieve the comforter she'd bought from the Walmart across the street in a pinch when Dawson had needed a blanket.

Hot or cold outside, Dawson always slept with some kind of blanket.

"Here's your blanket, Daws. I'm going to get eat and get ready for my meeting. Ivy's coming back with your oatmeal."

Dawson nodded, absentmindedly kicking her UGGS off and leaning back with the cup of pineapples still in her clutches.

Liv highlighted her recommendation for the clients that she would be dealing with in the meeting; she'd recommended that one of her clients not go forward with the acquisition they'd been pushing for, it was too risky and Liv knew she'd have a tough time trying to make them see what she saw; the potential for failure outweighed the potential for success.

Ivy returned as Liv was scribbling talking points in the margins of the briefing document she'd reviewed dozens of times since receiving it.

"And here is your oatmeal, be careful it's hot,"

Ivy told Dawson, setting a napkin, one of Dawson's baby spoons and the oatmeal on the table.

"Let it cool down, babe,"

Liv called, moving on to review the second set of briefing documents.

"Okay,"

Dawson squeaked, watching the steaming cup of oatmeal carefully.

"Liv? I wanted to let you know that Fitz called before I had a chance to. He said he'll be looking forward to your call after your meetings, and that he's noted Dawson's absence."

"Thanks, Ivy,"

Liv replied, twisting her pen in her fingers anxiously, her stomach jumping at the thought of Fitz.

Liv wasn't someone who moved fast, in anything. Whether it be acquisitions or relationships. Which weren't that different, Liv rationalized.

Liv looked at her relationship with Fitz from each of its sides: they each had children from previous marriages, they each had their share of issues with their ex, and though their physical and emotional chemistry spoke for itself, it was still surrounded by all of their issues. If Liv had to make a decision about whether or not to go forward or "all in" as she called it, she would have decided not to. Just by the facts on paper, the potential for failure outweighed the potential for success.

 _It's a good idea this is about emotions, and not money_. Liv thought to herself. _Money is easy, nearly black and white. You either lose it or you gain it. Emotions have levels, and each of those levels have a sub-level. Nothing about feeling is easy._

* * *

"Okay, PB&J."

Fitz handed Teddy his sandwich, smiling at how eager Teddy was to get his special sandwich cut into the shape of a Ninja Turtle- he had lucked out in the clearance section at Michael's.

Fitz glanced at the rest of his class, making sure everyone was eating peacefully at their rounded tables. Fitz had bought two dozen aprons, and had the kids decorate them with their name and their favorite things. Each child wore their apron as they ate; not only did it make an awesome art project, but it kept the kids clean during meals and snacks.

Teddy's hair was getting too long, Liv had commented on it, and Fitz had wanted to get his hair cut the previous morning, but Mellie had called and wanted to see Teddy; he traded her his Thursday night for her Saturday night. They'd spent it over with Liv and Dawson. Of course Fitz hadn't provided an explanation beyond the surface, and Mellie hadn't taken the time to ask. Teddy was mostly cared for by Jerry and Karen at Mellie's anyway.

Teddy's freckles were generously sprinkled over his cheeks and nose, and though he'd insisted on wearing the two sizes too small sweatshirt that Fitz's parents had gotten him from Tennessee (simply because it had 'T-Town' emblazoned on the front) he managed to look well put together.

"Is Dawson coming after lunch?"

Teddy asked, halfway through eating the Ninja Turtle's head.

"No, bud. Dawson's sick, remember I told you? We're having dinner with Mom, Jerry and Karen tonight instead of seeing Liv and Dawson."

Fitz felt his own words dampening his spirits. He agreed with Liv that they'd been much too fast to have consecutive nights of staying together, but he needed some middle ground. He didn't want to let go of the small amount of time that they'd all been together.

Of course he was looking forward to seeing his older children, who called him frequently enough that he felt like they missed him in some capacity, however he could have done without seeing Mellie. She was more than wrapped up in her own life, and while Fitz supported her career and her lobbying to be a one of the senior partners in her law firm- as she was only junior partner, he knew that their children came at the expense of her hectic work schedule. But, Teddy only spent the night with her a few times a month, and she'd been religious about keeping their weekend lunch dates, so Fitz didn't have any complaints in that area. That was almost the only area that he was content with when it came to Mellie.

"Are you cooking?" Teddy asked almost innocently. Fitz chuckled.

"Karen's going to help me. I was just planning on making some chicken stir fry."

"Can you make the pie that Liv made?"

Teddy inquired, licking his jelly off of his fingers.

"Hey. Use your napkin,"

Fitz scolded, smiling at Teddy's snaggletooth-ed grin- he'd lost another baby tooth at Liv's house over the past weekend.

"So can you?" Teddy pressed, smushing his napkin to the front of his face and rubbing it all over before dropping it quickly.

"I guess I could. I'd have to ask Liv the recipe, I don't know that all she put in it."

"Okay," Teddy agreed, pulling the top piece of bread off of his sandwich and leaning forward to eat the sandwich with no hands.

"Ted, stop being silly," Fitz laughed, scanning the room again, to see Hadyn Klein starting to mimic Teddy, eating her own egg salad sandwich with no hands.

Fitz shook his head as he tried to be stern with Teddy and Hadyn, but couldn't control his amusement.

"Chill out you two." Fitz told them in a mock authoritative voice. "We have ten more minutes of lunch."

Fitz addressed the rest of his class, as conversations resumed. Fitz stood and walked away from Teddy's table, preparing the materials for their last activity of the day. After their nap, they'd be making masks to resemble different types of flags. Fitz had come up with the idea after seeing Teddy's sneakers with the Spaniard flag's colors on their laces.

Fitz had assigned each of his kindergartners with a country, and would supply each child with those colors to decorate a mask as they wished.

Fitz leaned against his desk as he spotted Teddy leaning over into Dawson's empty chair. Teddy missed her, and it hadn't even been a day.

Fitz crossed his arms as he watched the last moments of mealtime tick away.

"Naps!"

Fitz called, clapping his hands as it officially became naptime. Fitz made sure he had his lucky number of students- 15 that day, since Dawson was sick.

Fitz corralled the kids into the nap area, and lined them up, giving each child a mat that would go on the frame of their cots. He then started giving each child their blankets and watched each of them struggle, pulling off their shoes or grumbling about not being tired. Fitz watched as one by one, they settled into their mats and started to grow quiet.

Teddy had chosen the cot closest to the exit of the nap area. Fitz had tried his best not to treat Teddy any differently from the other children, but he had slipped up a few times, including rocking Teddy to sleep during nap time. One kid, Isiah had woken up and thrown a fit over the special treatment. Now, Teddy had to sleep in his cot like everyone else.

Fitz left the nap area and headed back to his desk quickly, making sure his sightlines to the children were clear as he returned the empty lunchboxes to their rightful cubbies. He rehung their meal aprons and finally settled in his seat. He pulled out his phone and was disappointed to not have any texts or missed calls from Olivia.

Deciding to be proactive, Fitz dialed Liv and waited for her phone to go to voicemail, as it had at that time before.

"Fitz,"

Liv answered on the fourth ring. Fitz was pleasantly surprised; Liv was normally busy until the very last minute in the office.

"Liv. I was just going to leave you a message, I didn't think you'd answer. Didn't you have meetings today?"

Fitz heard Liv's exasperated sigh.

"I did, but I got through with them early, and now I'm just in my office with Dawson, trying to figure all this out."

"Figure what out? Everything alright?"

"I mean… yeah sure everything's cool. I'm just going to be rewriting my decisions- which won't change- in more defined terms since this client thinks I'm being too conservative in my renderings."

Fitz chuckled at how stressed Liv sounded; he admired how much she dug her heels into every project- she took no decision lightly.

"Well that sucks," Fitz sympathized.

"Yeah, you don't care." Liv chuckled. "I'm sorry, I'm just irritated, it's already been a long day; thank goodness we're out of here in two hours."

"Leaving early today?" Fitz inquired.

"Yeah, I haven't even started on dinner. I bought everything my step-mother likes, but I'm still really iffy about what to make. Cooking for you and Teddy is easier."

Liv added, her voice melting into the phone. Fitz grinned.

"Teddy'll follow you anywhere if you have a plate of your Shepard's pie," Fitz commented.

"I bet," Liv replied dryly.

"God, I miss you,"

Fitz told her, pressing his phone into his ear harder, trying to hear her reaction to his words.

Liv barely made a sound, but Fitz could tell that she said her next words with a smile.

"I miss you too. These last few days… have been…"

"Hell? Yeah, I know."

Fitz heard Liv's pout, and felt himself wanting to kiss her gently, he wanted to unravel her lips, to kiss her and feel her soft skin under his fingertips.

"I hate being an adult," Liv added. "We agreed to spend more time apart, and I know the kids are annoyed, but I'm beginning to get that way too. Who are we really trying to appease here?"

Fitz shrugged, grinning to himself as he realized that Liv couldn't see him.

"I guess it seems reckless to jump into family life with someone who's mostly unknown to you."

Liv snorted, and Fitz's smile widened, his attention broke from the phone as he saw a child stirring, and paused, watching him settle back down before continuing his conversation.

"That's a cute way of saying 'stranger'"

Liv pointed out.

"I'm not a stranger to you, though, am I?"

Fitz wanted to know.

"Of course not," Liv assured him in a hurry. "I feel like I learn more about you every time I look in your eyes. Maybe that's just poetry, but it's true for me. I know a lot about you."

Fitz looked out of the large window where the small potted plants the kids had decorated were stationed.

"Liv I hate that we're trying to be conventional, when we're not. We're both adults, and we like each other enough to date seriously. Our relationship is not rooted in sex, and we're responsible. We won't fall off the rails if we decide to put more weight on this thing. I want to be with you, hold you at night. And I want to do the right thing here, but who's to say that this isn't right for us?"

Liv was holding her breath, and Fitz could tell. She was clearly on pins and needles.

"I think that I want that too. But it's sudden. And… we would burn out a lot faster in close quarters than we would if we were living separately."

"I'd rather do this thing fully than half-assed. I want this. You do too."

"I know," Liv answered. "What about your ex and your other kids? They haven't even met me. They don't know me or Dawson, and you expect them to be okay with us moving in together?"

"Why don't we introduce everyone tonight? We can get together at my house, and I'll cook. We'll just let everyone know what we're doing, and it's a one stop shop."

"Fitz…" Liv trailed in thought. "How is that going to work?"

"We can make it work if we want it to. We'll tell everyone tonight and it will all be okay. Once everyone knows that we're serious, they'll all have to get on board."

"When has this sort of thing ever worked, Fitz?" Liv questioned.

Fitz didn't answer, and Liv hadn't expected him to.

"I'll… tell my step-mother and sister to meet at your house… okay? I'll go for this. But I'm not an optimist." Liv warned.

"And for some reason I enjoy that about you," Fitz joked.

* * *

"I texted her the directions, and she responded that she got them and they were on their way, I don't understand what's taking them so long,"

Liv told Fitz, anxiously pacing in his bedroom. Liv had rushed home to get herself and Dawson showered for their dinner at Fitz's. Dawson had made a miraculous recovery about ten minutes after Liv had told her about their new dinner plans. Liv had only been outside of Fitz's house, the night they'd gone to get his and Teddy's PJs. She'd been impressed by the Colonial style home on the outside, and the inside did not disappoint either.

Fitz had revealed to Liv that he'd had his cousin Thomas come in to advise him on décor. Thomas's advice was put to good use; Fitz's home was crisp and modern, and though each and every room had a smattering of Teddy's toys, it had a dream house feel. Liv had admired Fitz's deco for about ten minutes before she'd started freaking out. Mellie, Jerry and Karen were due any moment, as well as Liv's family. She'd let Fitz talk her into the dinner without fully thinking it through, and while it seemed like a good idea on paper, Liv didn't expect smooth sailing by any stretch of the imagination.

"Liv, they're coming. They're all coming. Soon most of our family will be under one roof. And, after we blindside them, we will feed them, and we will carry on about our lives because this is just a courtesy, remember? We're adults, and we're not hurting anyone by wanting to be together. And our children love each other already, and they're going to love spending more time together as a family. It's already done, you just have to relax."

Liv tried to slow her breathing, inhaling and exhaling while keeping her eyes on Fitz.

"I just want this to go well. Jerry and Karen are teenagers, they're bound to have some negative reaction towards this. And my step-mother is an airhead… but she's very critical. It's not like I care what they think…"

Liv trailed off, looking at Fitz's knowing smile. He knew that she wasn't being truthful.

"Of course you care. You care about what they think because maybe if people think this is wrong, it's okay for you to think this is wrong. It's like you want an out. Do you want out?"

Liv gripped Fitz's button down shirt, grasping the material in her hands. She peered up at him, embedding her answer in her eyes.

"Then let's do this."

Fitz affirmed, kissing Liv's lips lightly before pulling away from her.

"Hopefully your Dad and the kids got the Shepard's pie out of the oven with no trouble."

Liv smiled weakly as she watched Fitz leave his room. She hated that she still felt anxious. Jacqueline and Emma had never directly made Liv feel inferior, but she had recognized how much they analyzed her actions. It was almost as if they were waiting on her to slip up. Liv was always on presentation mode, there was no room for error and there was no room for her to look like she couldn't handle it all.

Jacqueline had been a big fan of Edison, and when Liv ended up in the hospital, Jacqueline had almost made Liv feel like it was her fault. _Almost_. It was as if Liv was almost at odds with her, almost inferior and almost a letdown. Liv hated the blurry line that Jacqueline created, but she rarely interacted with her, and their limited reactions were the only reason that their relationship wasn't yet strained.

Trying to calm her nerves wasn't easy, and as Liv left Fitz's room, she wondered how she could stay composed. Mellie, Jerry and Karen, Liv would and could handle, but the fact that Liv's almost critical stepmother was probably five minutes from where she stood was affecting her.

Liv descended the elegant cherry oak wood staircase and spotted her daughter bouncing around Fitz's open concept kitchen. Dawson was carrying the bowl of salad, clearly excited to be helping out. Being a teacher made it easy for Fitz to be un-patronizing toward children, especially Dawson. Dawson considered herself a mini adult, and while she was far from grown, she was very in tune with her emotions, and she hated to be underestimated or made to feel smaller than she was.

Liv took her time with the stairs, smiling as she noticed Fitz stretching his long arm easily to grab a stack of plates from the top shelf. His stone gray t-shirt rose to reveal a toned slice of his belly. Liv found her gaze lingering, her foot hovering slightly off of the last step as she turned her head to get a better angle of his toned body. Fitz's stomach disappeared as he closed the cabinet and walked toward the long table that Dawson was placing the bowl of salad on. Fitz set the plates down, and Teddy started distributing them. Fitz smiled at Teddy, then glanced up to see Liv, still transfixed. Liv smiled weakly as she realized that Fitz had caught her checking him out.

Dawson and Teddy finished setting the table as the doorbell rang. Liv smiled a nervous smile at Fitz and watched as he returned her smile, though his was sure and stable.

"Dad, can we answer the door?"

Teddy requested, jumping at Fitz's leg. Dawson smiled up at Fitz as Teddy continued to jump. Fitz broke his eye contact with Liv and smiled down at his son.

"Sure, bud. You and Dawson go to the door together, okay?"

Fitz answered, as though they were going on some sort of extended excursion rather than twenty or so feet across the house.

Teddy took Dawson's hand and pulled her in the direction of the door, as Fitz walked over to Liv, helping her down the last step.

"I'm nervous."

Fitz cradled her face in his hands gingerly.

"Don't be. It's already over," He coaxed.

"Where's my Dad?" Liv asked, not seeing him anywhere.

"In the den; he found my TV and the celebrity poker tournament is on," Fitz chuckled.

Liv nodded, forcing a smile as her eyes darted toward the door; the security system that Fitz had installed also had a camera that pointed at the front door. From her place at the stairs, Liv could see who she assumed to be Mellie and two dark haired teenagers, Jerry and Karen.

"Mom!"

Teddy announced, excited. He unlocked the door and stepped back, as Dawson watched his mother and siblings enter the house, bringing in some of the chilly evening.

Mellie was taller than Liv, with generously curly dark brown hair, pale skin and bright green eyes. If Liv had pictured her, based on Fitz's descriptions (which she hadn't) the Mellie who was showering Teddy with kisses would not be it. Mellie looked like a living embodiment of Suzy Homemaker. In fact, the only deviation from this was her crisp pantsuit, which fit her well but was a serious shade of gray.

Jerry and Karen could have been twins, they were nearly the same height, with slender figures and complimentary features. Both were pale, and both had chestnut brown hair, like Teddy. Karen's eyes were her father's blue while Jerry took his mother's green. Like Mellie, Jerry and Karen regarded Dawson as everyone did- with absolute adoration. Karen particularly fawned over her, and asked to pick Dawson up, which Dawson allowed, but clearly only to be polite. Dawson cast a glance at Liv, and soon, so did Mellie, Karen and Jerry.

Mellie stepped forward, her smile uncomfortably sunny.

"Fitz," She managed through tightened lips. "Who is this?"

And, it seemed Jerry and Karen wanted to know the same.

* * *

 ** _Okay. So I'm double updating today! This is the first chapter and the second will see a couple of things we've been building towards. First, at the very end of this chapter, Liv and Mellie finally meet. This is gonna be good. Their relationship will be interesting and dynamic, as it should be in this situation that they're in. More things that happened in this chapter: we have some Fitz POV, with Fitz pushing Liv to look outside of tradition. Olitz seems to be taking it snail slow in terms of their physical relationship, but that will soon change!_**

 ** _Dawson wanted to stay home from school: why? We'll find out next chapter. Also, Liv is feeling more nervous about seeing her stepmother than meeting Mellie, Jerry and Karen. We get to see some of Liv at work, and how much success she has (enough to have her own secretary!)_**

 ** _Fitz's idea to have an all-inclusive dinner could either be the best thing he's ever come up with or it'll blow up in his face. Yay! Love those odds._**

 ** _We'll have the dinner next chapter (should be out tonight!) as well as the real reason Dawson wanted to stay home from school. There will be some Edison talk, but no actual Edison (YAY) and also we'll have a little domestic fluff._**

 ** _-Avis_**


	8. Crooks & Bedtime Hugs

It was as if Mellie was sizing up her competition as Liv realized how weird they must have appeared; so isolated, she was nearly backed into a corner, with Fitz towering over her protectively. But Mellie didn't seem to be intimidated, if anything she was curious and a little amused by what was playing out in front of her.

"Fitz," Mellie called again, nearly in a singsong voice. "Who is this?"

Fitz turned back to Liv, who was more than confused and a little hurt that Mellie didn't know who she was. She knew who Mellie was.

"This is my girlfriend, Olivia Pope. I know I told you about her, Mel."

Fitz responded, his voice on the edge of warmth. He wrapped his arm around Liv's lower waist; the gesture sent the already fluttering butterflies in Liv's stomach into a frenzy.

"I would remember if you mentioned a girlfriend, Fitz."

Mellie insisted, eyeing Liv critically. Liv responded her stare with one she knew all too well. As a powerful woman in the workforce, she was often met with appraising stares by her fellow women. She knew that they were usually because she outranked them, or when she didn't, it was because they were irritated that Liv was so good at her job. It happened with men as well, though in a different vein; they were surprised to learn that Liv would be handling their large sum accounts, and more than likely they were uneasy and doubted her abilities.

Liv didn't wilt under that gaze in a professional setting and she wouldn't do it in a personal one. Liv met Mellie's stare and held it, until Fitz cleared his throat, clearly sensing the tension.

"We're not going to debate this, Mellie. I told you about Liv, and you don't remember. The point is that we're all here for dinner, and dinner is what we're going to have. We're just waiting on Liv's stepmother and sister."

Mellie raised an eyebrow, but, clearly not wanting to forfeit her dominance over the conversation, she strode forward, and held out her hand for Liv to take. Liv didn't move from Fitz, but took Mellie's hand in her own, her way of establishing her own dominance.

"Nice to meet you, Mellie. I'm Olivia, Olivia Pope. And your daughter Karen is holding my daughter, Dawson."

Liv told Mellie all of this with a consistent smile, and managed to keep her tone light. Mellie wasn't as composed as Liv was, but responded to her handshake with a warm smile. Tight lipped, Mellie turned to her children.

"I'm Jerry,"

Jerry spoke, waving his hand lamely, looking very uncomfortable.

"I'm Karen,"

Karen chimed, not hiding her amusement.

"And, you said we were waiting for who?"

Mellie asked, once a silence had fallen over the group.

"Liv's family. We wanted us all to be together tonight. Liv's father is here too, in the den."

"Can I go get Pop-pop?"

Dawson asked next, jumping in Karen's arms.

"Of course, Daws." Fitz responded, smiling down at Liv, who hadn't started to answer yet. Liv grinned up at him, her attraction to him growing by the minute.

Dawson looked pointedly at Karen, who grinned at her and set her down. Dawson took Teddy's hand, as he had hers and rushed off toward the den, in the corner of the house.

Mellie stood in between her children and Fitz and Liv.

Liv couldn't let herself feel the awkwardness, she was too engrossed in admiring the naturalness that they had together.

 _Maybe moving in together won't be as hard as I think it will._ Liv thought.

Dawson emerged, Teddy holding one hand and Eli holding the other. Mellie didn't respond much to Eli, but Eli, who was clearly enjoying himself stepped forward, carefully releasing Dawson's hand.

"Hello, I'm Eli Pope, Olivia's father. You must be Mellie." Eli introduced himself, his hand outstretched to Mellie, who seemed bamboozled by his calmness in the situation. Nonetheless, Mellie took his hand and shook it.

"Yes, I'm Melody, actually. Fitz's former wife."

Eli nodded in understanding.

"Nice to meet you, Melody."

Next, he moved to Jerry and Karen, who had both been onlookers up until that point.

"I'm Eli, hello." Eli addressed Karen, who seemed the most outgoing between them.

"Karen," She replied, firmly shaking his hand.

Olivia watched as her father did the same with Jerry, who tried his best not to appear intimidated, though he probably was.

Liv turned to Fitz, trying to find her calm in his eyes. She wanted her anxiety to leak away, but it felt nearly impossible. The balloon that had been inflating in her chest made it nearly unbearable to focus. She heard Fitz's words in her head. _It's already over._

As if confirming this, the doorbell rang again, and Liv reached around her waist to squeeze Fitz's hand that rested there. Fitz sensed her apprehension more than ever, and tightened his hold on her. Dawson glanced at her mother, it was if Liv's nerves were tangible. Fitz smiled at his daughter.

"Karen, will you get the door?"

"Sure, Dad."

Karen replied, turning and opening the door, as Liv's relatives flooded in. Jacqueline looked the same as ever, and her daughter, Emma was followed by her off and on boyfriend, Tyler.

Liv watched as Jacqueline evaluated Fitz's house. The few times Liv had invited her over, Jacqueline had torn apart her décor choices with "innocent" sentences.

"You like the look of breakfast nooks? I always feel like I'm sitting in a cheap restaurant."

"Powder blue isn't my favorite color, it seems sort of generic, but that's just me."

She wasn't known for her subtlety, but Liv would have never been able to call her out on her comments and win, so she didn't.

Jacqueline was the epitome of racial ambiguity, she had skin resembling generously creamed coffee, hazel eyes and a wild mane that seemed to always be pulled into various permutations of a basic ponytail. More than ever her features were accented, more specifically her large eyes as she took in the group that were assembled in the entryway of Fitz's home.

Liv patted Fitz's hand and broke away from him. Liv approached Jacqueline, who smiled a tight smile at Liv.

"It's been a long time,"

Liv greeted, hugging Jacqueline. Liv moved to hug Emma, who winked at her before pulling her into a tighter embrace than Liv had intended.

Liv pulled away from Emma and nodded at Tyler. She hadn't seen him in a long while, it always seemed as if Emma and Tyler were off more than they were on.

Eli seemed to stiffly hug his wife. The gesture nearly looked unnatural to Liv, it was almost as if they'd never been married. The awkwardness was palpable. She couldn't remember the day when her father had started to move his things out of the house they shared together in Maryland. It was so gradual that by the time her father had completely gone, Liv had hardly noticed. Dawson was nearly three by then, and she was consumed with raising an energetic toddler and trying to balance out work. It was almost a relief to have her father living so close by that she'd barely questioned where Jacqueline was. Somewhere, Liv knew that she wasn't upset by their separation, and that made her feel irritated with herself; her father deserved happiness, and Jacqueline did make him happy. Liv wondered if she had helped create the space between them. She probably contributed, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly how.

"Liv… Why _did_ you move the dinner here? You hardly explained on the phone."

Jacqueline started, already rounding on Liv.

"I was thinking we could all get settled at the dinner table then talk about it there,"

Liv told them all, looking around, noting Mellie's slight scowl and Jerry's uneasy expression.

"I agree. Let's all get some food in our bellies, then we'll talk."

Except no one moved, no one followed Liv and Fitz into the dining area, not even Teddy and Dawson.

Liv looked at Fitz. She could tell that everyone had questions, while some of why they were all gathered was obvious, they needed to be told, before anything else happened. Liv reached out for Fitz's hand and tried to summon her words. Ordinarily she was a fantastic public speaker, she had to be. She couldn't waver in her words or in her conviction. Just as she had to stand by her decisions in a professional setting, in a room full of men in suits, she had to stand just as firmly by the decision she'd made in front of her and Fitz's families.

"Fitz and I wanted you all to be here, because we believe you all have a right to know what we intend to do. It affects some of you in major ways. We are in love, and we know that our feelings won't change. And for us the natural next step is to begin the transition into living together."

Liv felt the balloon in her chest shaking, as if waiting to be popped or spared.

Mellie opened her mouth to speak, twice, but in the end decided to remain quiet. Dawson and Teddy held onto each other's hands, and watched as their relatives tried to work out what Liv had just said in their heads.

"How long have you been dating?"

Emma finally piped up, clearly asking the question that everyone was wondering in their heads.

"Officially? About three weeks or so."

Fitz answered, squeezing Liv's hand.

Liv heard how strange the words sounded in his mouth. Liv couldn't believe the time had truly been that short. She'd gained so much knowledge about Fitz, laughed and cried with him, fallen in love with him all in a few short weeks.

How could they ever justify rearranging their lives based on the shaky foundation of a three week relationship?

Mellie looked at Liv like she was crazy, and Liv started to agree with her assessment.

"And… you're moving your entire lives? After dating three weeks?"

Jacqueline chimed in, staring at Liv as if she was crazier than she'd originally thought.

"We're in love,"

Fitz stated simply, beaming down at Liv. Liv felt her entire heart flutter as she melted into his gaze. It was almost as if she had tunnel vision in that moment. She wanted to hear Fitz tell her that for the rest of her life, there was no doubt. No further examining of the facts would bring her to any different conclusion. Nothing could overshadow the simplicity that Fitz loved her. He was in love with her, and he was willing to bet it all.

That did something to her, the way his hand felt in hers, how protected she felt, it made her want to follow him anywhere. It was crazy, the entire thing was the furthest from sanity that she'd ever been. But could she deny that her heart sang for this man? That he was tender toward her daughter, and that she adored his son? Could she deny that she knew they would work? She knew she couldn't. She hated her apprehensions, she hated that she'd been conditioned to take her time in everything; she'd taken her time with Edison, and she'd always hoped that someday it would feel right, though it never had. She never felt safe with Edison, as much as she lied to herself that she did. She always felt like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop, the creeping anxiety that came along with Edison was what she couldn't shake.

Fitz had never made her feel that way. He'd never made her want for solid footing, he'd never left her unsure. It had felt right from the beginning because it was right.

Liv swallowed, her throat thick as she felt the familiar tightening in her chest. She was going to cry. She wanted to cry, to release the nerves that had been making her crazy. She turned back to their family members.

"We know this is crazy. We know what you're thinking: that we're acting like crazy teenagers… that we barely know each other… that we'll screw up Dawson and Teddy. But… you have to trust us. We are both so sure that we belong together. And we love our children, and we would never do anything that we believe would hurt them."

"Don't I get a say in all this?"

Mellie interjected, her voice sharp and steely. Liv's eyes fell upon her, and she waited for Mellie to continue.

"Teddy is my son. He is my baby and I can't argue that you can do whatever you want, Fitz. But you're not dragging my son into this."

"He chose to live with me, Mel. Just like Jerry and Karen chose to live with you."

Liv felt the conversation turn, and suddenly noticed the awkward expressions of their children.

"Mellie, Fitz. We can all talk about this like adults, but I think we need to let the children go upstairs, or to the den. We want this to be as candid as possible,"

Mellie glared at Liv, but cocked her head in agreement, and without another word, Jerry and Karen rushed forward, grabbing the hands of Teddy and Dawson and heading toward the den.

"Can we all sit, please?"

Liv pushed, motioning to the table. Mellie seemed to take her seat reluctantly, and watched as Fitz pulled out Liv's chair for her to sit, and once they were seated, Mellie dove back into the conversation they were having before the children had fled.

"Teddy isn't moving." Mellie told Fitz firmly, her eyes on him only. "If he moves, we go back to court."

Liv remembered the looming custody case with Edison; they had less than two weeks until they were in court, battling out over Dawson. Liv had started preparing her case with Abby, they were set to visit the hospital for the records of her assault the following morning.

Fitz had already gone through the difficulty of a custody hearing once. She hated to think that he would have to do it all over again.

Fitz held Mellie's stare, as the other occupants at the table became uncomfortable, and shifted in their seats. Mellie was clearly on the warpath, and Liv couldn't much blame her.

Though their situations were entirely different, the threat of not being able to control who raised her child was the same.

"Mellie. Teddy is thriving with me,"

Fitz began calmly, if he was rattled by her threat he didn't let it show.

"I'm with him all day at school, I tuck him in at night."

Fitz's voice cracked at his last word, but he continued, still holding Mellie's eyes.

"Please don't take him away from me out of spite. Don't put him through that. You know I would never do anything to hurt him."

"I don't like this, Fitz."

Mellie warned, her eyes darting to Liv. Liv knew better than to speak towards the custody of Teddy, but she knew if Fitz lost him, he wouldn't be the same.

"You don't have to like it. You just have to trust that I love Teddy enough to do what's best for him."

"Him or you? Because, it seems to me that if you truly cared about Teddy you wouldn't move him out of his home to an unfamiliar house with unfamiliar people."

"Liv and Dawson aren't unfamiliar. Dawson and Teddy get along great, and Liv has treated Teddy like her own. Face that this is not about your reservations. Why do you really want to fight this?"

Mellie pursed her lips and turned to Liv.

"I don't think that bringing an unfamiliar man around your child is a good idea right now. The judge won't take kindly to your impulsive decision to move in with a man you barely know. It's irresponsible and it will make it more likely for your ex to gain joint custody."

Liv sat back in her chair, incredulous.

"How do you know about any of that?" Liv hissed, looking toward her father. Jacqueline straightened in her chair, as if she'd been asleep for most of the conversation.

"Edison is lobbying for joint custody of Dawson?"

Jacqueline asked, glancing at Eli, whose grim expression confirmed this.

"If so, then I agree with Mellie. This isn't a good idea right now. Not a good time to take chances and risk disrupting the stable environment you've made for Dawson."

"This can't be introduced in court, Jacqueline."

"It can, if it has been brought to his attention by his counsel."

Mellie smirked. Liv rolled her eyes. Her life couldn't have been more soap opera-ish if it tried.

"You and I both know that it won't be admissible. Six years of excellent parenting on my part is not going to be tarnished by a lifestyle change. Fitz and I love each other. The judge will not throw the book at me because I am in love."

"And since when are you council for Liv's ex, Mellie?" Fitz demanded, Mellie shrugged innocently.

"His case has been bouncing around the office. I'm going for partner, you know that. Edison is sympathetic. That's all a man needs to win a custody case. That and he's hardworking, stable and he's trying to be better."

Liv rolled her eyes at Mellie's assertion.

"He's not sympathetic, he's six years too late. How could a judge disregard what I've done in favor of his dead beat Dad track record?"

Mellie only smirked and sat back, apparently not offering an answer.

"It's clearly going to do you two more harm than good to jump into this now. Maybe after the hearing, or once Teddy and Dawson are older. There's no rush. If you love each other, you can wait."

Jacqueline told Liv and Fitz gently. Eli remained stone-faced, Liv wished he would say something. She knew her father wasn't completely on board with what Liv wanted, but he knew how to defend her better than anyone. He was the person that went to bat for her, and it saddened her that he remained silent when she needed him most.

"We love each other," Fitz replied simply.

"That's why we _can't_ wait. We can't adhere to your expectations about our relationship. We are the only two that are in this thing, and we know how powerful this is. There is no rush, but why wait? Why put off 'till tomorrow what we can do today? If you all love us, like you claim you do, you'll support us. And trust that we know what's best, and that we are trusting this relationship like we've never trusted anything before. And that we think it can hold up."

Eli sat back, pushing his hands onto his abdomen. Emma bit her lip in thought, and Liv's eyes fell on her.

Emma smiled encouragingly. "Well. I love you, Liv. And I want you to be happy. And you look happy. I'd never question that."

Liv squeezed Fitz's hand, her stomach fluttering again.

"Fitz. This isn't about me loving you or caring about you. It's about Teddy and Jerry and Karen. They deserve stability. And they deserve to have us cooperating,"

Mellie asserted, her voice combative once again. Liv wondered if she had any other approach to conversation.

"Then cooperate." Fitz replied.

Mellie scowled as Jerry, Karen, Teddy and Dawson walked into the room.

"Is dinner ready?" Dawson squeaked.

Fitz turned to Mellie again. "Is dinner ready, Mellie?"

Mellie rolled her eyes and threw her hands up.

"I guess so."

xxx

"I'm still having flashbacks," Liv growled, stopping outside of the hospital that Abby had taken her to the night of her accident. Abby sat in her passenger seat, chuckling at how stressed Liv looked.

"It sounded like a lot of fun. Gathering your relatives in one room and telling them something they will never agree with. You two have a lot of nerve. I'm guessing you two made it out in one piece?"

"Clearly,"

Liv replied dryly, reaching across Abby to her passenger side glove compartment. The bottle of Motrin was more than welcome to her burgeoning headache.

"We were just grilled for a solid ten minutes until our kids finally took some of the heat off. My stepmom has always been so critical, and Fitz's ex-wife redefines hostile. I just can't. I got through it, but never again."

Abby nodded, poking her lip out sympathetically. Liv smiled weakly.

"We're starting the move tonight,"

Abby unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to Liv.

"After all that your family put you through? You two really do love each other."

Liv's lips puckered with optimism as she felt Fitz's words, his promises to her, and his absolute conviction that their lifestyle could work.

"It sounds crazy…. I know it does. But this sudden leap that we're taking… I trust it. It's like I'm leaping into something safe and sure. I like the feeling. It's... like security. I want that."

Abby smiled encouragingly and reached for Liv's hand, squeezing it tightly once.

"I'll always support you. As long as you look as sure as you do right now."

Liv laughed and popped two of the orange Motrin as she glanced over at the entrance to the hospital.

"I can't believe Edison is making me do this,"

Liv divulged, her stomach churning slightly at the sudden realization that she would have to present the photos of her injuries and detail what Edison had done to her to a judge. She hated that he had pushed her to that point, where they could no longer be reasonable together. In her opinion, Edison only wanted Dawson in a last ditch attempt to hurt Liv. If he couldn't have her, Liv felt as though he'd stop at nothing to make her unlovable for anyone else. Liv tossed the bottle of Motrin back into the glove compartment and straightened up in her seat, removing the car keys from the ignition and placing her hand onto the door handle.

"I'm ready. You lead the way, alright?"

Liv requested, hopping out of the car and watching Abby do the same. Liv pressed the 'lock' button on her key and walked to Abby's side.

"You called first, right?" Liv asked apprehensively, as they entered the lobby of the hospital, Abby slightly ahead of Liv.

"Yes. I made sure your lawyer called too. It's all good. We just have to go downstairs to records."

The ride in the elevator was the longest of her life, she couldn't make herself relax.

 _It's just a folder._ Liv told herself, her fingers fidgeting in her cupped hands.

"Liv, relax, please. Breathe. We're going into an office and we're coming right back out."

"I know. I know. It's just nerve-wracking. Edison's still affecting me."

"Well this is where it stops, Liv. He's a spineless man-child, okay? After we get this proof, he'll never be able to bother you and Dawson again. But we need this file. So please. Pull it together."

Liv rolled her eyes, but grinned nonetheless, as weird as it was, Abby's brand of tough love worked on her. They stepped out of the elevator into a long hallway, with several doors lining the florescent lit space. The door in front of them was labeled 'Patient Records'. Liv was almost sure that the morgue was located on the level as well, so she was thankful that they didn't need to do a lot of wandering.

"Okay. I'm good. Let's go."

xxx

Dawson rocked back and forth in their bathtub, a small toy boat riding the waves she was creating. Liv looked up and grinned as she turned the page of her newest acquisition proposal. She bounced her crossed leg lightly as she returned to her reading. Dawson's sloshing of the bathwater stopped, and Liv looked up expectantly, finding her daughter eyeing her warily.

"Mom."

Dawson asked slowly, her toy boat still bobbing, closer toward the faucet. Dawson looked as if she was trying to choose her words carefully. It wasn't clear what direction Dawson would lead the conversation, but she had been acting strangely the whole evening. Liv had returned to work after she and Abby had visited the hospital to a large pile of work. She didn't want to leave herself more work to do the following work day, so Liv logged several much needed hours to get her workload down. By the time she was finished, it was after three and she rushed to call Fitz to have him take Dawson home. They were beginning the first stages of moving, and one of the things they'd decided was to bring an overnight bag for Teddy over, as well as some of his toys. Fitz brought a sizeable amount of clothes, enough to stay for a few nights. Dawson had been surprisingly absent from the evening, not helping Teddy with the toppings for the pizza, refusing ice-cream and reading a book in her corner instead of watching TV with them. Liv knew that Dawson would talk to her in her own time, but she wasn't even sure what could be bugging her.

"Dawson,"

Liv replied, amused at how precocious her daughter was.

"Does my Dad look like me?" Liv stared at her daughter blankly, unsure of how to respond. She opened her mouth then closed it. Dawson returned her stare and grabbed the boat, pulling it toward her.

"You… you remember seeing him in the ice cream shop, right babe? Do you think he looks like you?"

Liv asked, getting a grip on herself.

"I dunno," Dawson replied thoughtfully. "Maybe. Mr. Fitz… he doesn't look like me. Does he?"

"No, baby. He doesn't."

Dawson looked down at the boat, and began playing with the small captain figurine at the head of the boat.

"Does he have to look like me to love me?"

This time, Dawson remained fixed on the boat, not looking up at Liv. Liv set her papers down and sat down on the floor, leaning over the lip of the tub to Dawson.

"No, Daws. He doesn't have to look like you to love you. You know we're all going to be spending time together… And I want you to be okay with this."

Dawson didn't look up. She continued to play with the toy boat.

"I am… It's just…"

Liv hung onto Dawson's every word, not sure what her daughter would tell her. She wanted to believe that everything was going so smoothly because it was right, but what if the quickness of the situation was confusing Dawson? Had they needed to have a better talk with the kids? Liv wasn't sure if she would be able to forgive herself if Dawson felt slighted; she should have considered the fact that her daughter wasn't accustomed to being a in a household with another child. Liv had always assumed that Dawson was a mini adult because she had to be, but maybe Dawson liked that it was just the two of them. Liv considered every negative thing that Dawson could say, anticipating the sting and waves of guilt that would flood her, but Dawson was taking her time, and when she finally spoke, it was not at all what Liv expected.

"I see him sometimes,"

Dawson mumbled into her chest, her lips barely moving. If Liv wasn't seated so close to her, she was positive she wouldn't have heard.

"See who, babe?"

Liv asked cautiously, watching Dawson's face for any sign of turmoil, instead Dawson just looked torn, she finally looked up and into Liv's eyes.

"My Dad. I see him sometimes."

Liv raised an eyebrow, her mind racing, and her heart thumping dangerously hard in her chest.

"You… see him? Your Dad? When? Where?"

"At school. He was sitting in his car when we were playing… And then I saw him when I went to the office. He hugs me sometimes, and kisses my head. Tells me I look like him."

Liv swallowed, her throat thick. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she stood, almost numbly and grabbed Dawson's oversized, thick bath towel. Without word Dawson stood and walked into the towel that Liv held out, Liv wrapped Dawson up securely and hugged her daughter to her, determined not to let her daughter see her cry.

As Liv carried Dawson back to her room, she heard Fitz singing to Teddy, having bathed in Liv's bathroom. They hadn't spoken about separate bedtime routines, but Dawson had been in such a mood that Liv almost insisted that they needed their own bath time. She had wanted to reconnect with Dawson. How had she missed this? She used to talk to Dawson for hours about her day and how much she learned. So much had changed in such a short time, and Liv felt like she had neglected her daughter, and she hated herself for it. If she had made time to talk to Dawson, she would have known that Edison was watching her at school.

"Is that why you didn't want to go to school yesterday?"

Liv asked soothingly, walking to Dawson's closet and pulling down a pair of her ocean blue jersey pajamas. She already knew the answer, but she needed Dawson to say it, she needed to understand what exactly her daughter was feeling.

"Yes,"

Dawson whispered, as Liv passed her a pair of underwear and her pajamas. Dawson hopped off of her bed and started getting dressed. She reached out for Liv as she started pulling on the legs of her pajama bottoms, Liv knew she must have been upset; she'd been dressing herself without aid since she was three.

"He's scary. He looks at me a lot."

"You're scared of him?"

Liv asked, trying to hide her tone of surprise; she was sure that Dawson felt some sort of repressed affection for Edison, especially since Liv had never spoken ill of him. Liv was prepared for Dawson to want to get to know him, despite his past behavior.

"A little,"

Dawson admitted, eyeing her scarf warily as Liv took it from her bedpost and started to tie it around Dawson's Bantu knots.

"Why? What does he do that scares you?"

"He makes me scared, Mommy. I don't know why."

Liv nodded hard, finishing tying the scarf and scooping Dawson up into her arms again, feeling relieved as Dawson pushed her face into the crook of Liv's neck.

"I'm sorry that he's scaring you, babe. We'll do something about it, I promise."

"Knock, knock,"

Liv pulled away from Dawson slightly to see Fitz and Teddy standing in the doorway, Teddy wore forest green jersey pajamas and gray tube socks. His wayward chestnut hair was still drying from his bath. Liv grinned at the sight of them, both ready for bed, she noticed. Fitz wore a white scoop neck t-shirt and blue plaid pajama bottoms.

"Teddy just wanted to hug Dawson goodnight,"

Fitz explained, clearly realizing that he intruded on a moment. Dawson perked up and held out her arms for Teddy. Liv stood as Teddy climbed onto her bed and hugged her tightly. They seemed to mold together, as Teddy hugged her with all his strength. As he released her, Teddy looked at her earnestly.

"I want you to feel better." Teddy told Dawson. Dawson smiled and looked up to Liv.

"I do."

Fitz looked at Liv nervously, slowly he walked to Dawson's bed and kneeled down, eyelevel with Dawson and Teddy.

"Dawson, could I hug you goodnight?"

Liv watched as Dawson wordlessly hugged Fitz, this time, it was Dawson who used all of her strength to hug him. Fitz only let go after Dawson did. Teddy hopped down from Dawson's bed and hugged Liv as Dawson had, burying his face into the crook of her neck, Liv hugged Teddy back, and as Fitz had, only let go when Teddy did.

"Dawson. Did you want to tell Mr. Fitz about what is going on?"

Fitz crossed his arms, "Is everything okay?"

"Dawson has been seeing Edison at school. That's why she was absent yesterday."

"I had no idea," Fitz told Liv, then looked back to Dawson. "If I had, I would have done something to help. I'm sorry I didn't realize."

"Don't feel too bad, he's very good at being sneaky."

Liv had let that slip out of frustration. "I'm sorry, babe. I didn't meant that. I'm just worried. If your Dad gets you so upset that you don't want to go to school to avoid him, we need to do something about this."

Fitz nodded,

"I agree. I want Dawson to feel safe at school. We miss her when she's gone, and I can't rationalize keeping her inside so that Edison doesn't watch her. Is there something that we can do?"

"I'll find out in the morning."

Liv assured, turning back to Dawson. "Ready for bed, love-love?"

Dawson nodded and shimmied under her comforter. Liv kissed her forehead.

"See you in the morning, babe."

Liv followed Fitz and Teddy out of Dawson's room, closing the door behind her. They walked into the guest room, which was serving as Teddy's room, Teddy's toys were strewn around the floor, and in order to make Teddy more comfortable, Fitz had bought him two posters at Wal-Mart on the way home from school. They were each of Ninja Turtles.

After tucking Teddy in, Fitz and Liv walked into Liv's bedroom. Liv blushed, realizing that after the move it would be their bedroom. Fitz slid in behind Liv in bed, pulling her body to rest comfortably against his. Liv slowly let her body relax, and tried to let the sudden stress of the day roll off her back.

"We're doing the right thing, aren't we?"

Liv asked Fitz awhile later, hoping he was asleep and hadn't heard her. But he had, and he massaged her shoulders as he considered his reply.

"I think so. "

Liv turned around in Fitz's arms and kissed him slowly, savoring the softness of his lips, and the way they seemed to grow closer as the kiss deepened.

"Good." Liv answered. "Because we're in this together now."

"Very true," Fitz mumbled sleepily, and Liv sunk into the most comfortable place on his chest, as she felt his head land softly on top of her own; they were a perfect fit.

xxx

 **A/N: Okay. So a bunch happens in this chapter. But one thing that will definitely change the way the story is going: Why Dawson didn't want to go to school. Dawson revealed that Edison has been watching her at school. This will have repercussions in the ensuing custody battle that Liv and Edison are gearing up for. Next chapter we'll have some one-on-one Liv and Mellie time (so excited for this!) as well as some more Teddy and Dawson time (love these two almost-siblings) and we'll get our first real encounter with Jerry and Karen, and they will play a big role in the next few chapters. Let me know any predictions you have! As well as any comments or concerns!**

 **Thanks for reading as always!**

 **Avis**

 **xoxo**


	9. Ceilings & Adult Time

"Mellie,"

Liv greeted into her cellphone that next week, pouring milk into cups for Dawson and Teddy. Liv cast a backward glance as she set the milk jug down and cradled her phone between her cheek and shoulder; Teddy was none the wiser that his mother was on the phone. Dawson was chewing thoughtfully on a small triangle of toast, Teddy was pushing his Cream of Wheat around his bowl.

"Good morning," Mellie replied stiffly, Liv fought her reactionary eye roll, and instead served the cups to Dawson and Teddy.

"You sure you weren't trying to reach Fitz?"

"I know my husband's number, thank you."

"Your _ex_ -husband, you mean." Liv corrected, noticing Dawson's attention break away from her toast at her mother's shift in tone. Teddy followed suit, though he had little to no clue what was happening.

"Naturally… Anyway...Olivia I'm calling to invite you to lunch, later on today. We have things we need to discuss, and I'd rather we do them face to face, in a neutral setting."

Liv twisted her mouth in thought; the ambush family dinner had been more than anyone could handle, maybe Mellie had reacted the way she did because she was caught off guard. Though a nagging voice in the corner of Liv's head rejected this theory- Mellie was a little too comfortable being combative- she ignored it.

"We can't discuss those things over the phone? I'm looking at a very busy day today. I probably won't even be able to take a lunch."

Fitz entered the room, rolling up the cuffs of his pale blue Ralph Lauren sweater.

"Did someone say lunch?" He asked, grinning at Teddy and Dawson who perked up at the sight of him.

"Mommy said lunch!" Dawson told him eagerly, smiling over at Olivia.

Since their heart to heart the previous week, Liv was thankful that Friday was upon them; she was looking forward to the family weekend that was approaching. Dawson had seemed like she was adjusting to having Fitz and Teddy around full time. The talk they'd had with Dawson about Edison's visits was just the beginning as far as Olivia was concerned; she hated that Dawson had been dealing with this on her own. She also felt unspeakable anger for Edison; not only seeing their daughter without her permission, but also scaring her so much that she hadn't been behaving like herself, and begging to miss school.

Despite their initial hurdles, Liv and Fitz were thriving. They had decided to complete the move that weekend, were planning on Teddy decorating his new room and had Jerry and Karen staying over starting that night.

"Mommy said lunch?" Fitz echoed, grinning at Olivia and crinkling his brow as he finally realized she was on the phone.

"Who's on the phone?" He mouthed, reaching down for Teddy and Dawson to give them Good Morning hugs. Once he stood back up, Liv mouthed to him: "Your wife."

Fitz raised an eyebrow. "My _ex_ -wife? Why?"

Liv shrugged. "Sorry. Like I was saying, I probably won't be taking lunch today. We could reschedule. Maybe Monday or Tuesday would be better?"

"I could just come to your office with some salads. That way you won't have to take a formal lunch." Mellie suggested, her tone sounded as if she was resolved. Why was she pushing this lunch so much? Liv felt her neck heat in frustration; Liv groaned to herself.

"Hold on,"

Olivia pulled the phone away from her ear and muted Mellie. "Can we have an adult moment, please?"

Liv requested to Fitz, casting a glance over to the kids. Teddy was reaching for Dawson's hand, and held his spoon in his other hand. Once Dawson took it they were linked at the hand and eating their Cream of Wheat.

"We're probably too lucky." Liv commented of their children. Fitz nodded in response,

"We should take a picture of them and send it off to some blended family magazine." He chuckled. Liv took his hand and led them away from the kitchen into the dining room.

"Fitz, Mellie wants to come to my office today and bring me lunch." Liv told him, emphasizing lunch. Fitz crossed his arms in evaluation.

"Well," He finally replied. "How _dare_ she bring you food? Does she think you can't feed yourself? Is she trying to insult you?" Fitz grinned good-naturedly and pulled Liv into his arms soothingly.

Liv rolled her eyes and nearly pouted at Fitz's teasing. He really did make her feel like a teenager again.

"Please, don't let her get to you. She's a shark, always has been. And she prides herself in being a ball-buster. But you are too. You know this lunch is only so that she can argue with you about the kids. She's afraid Jerry and Karen's visits this weekend are going to result in them disowning her or something. She's scared, and she know she can't get through me, so she's appealing to you; mother to mother."

Olivia sunk into Fitz's arms and tried to ignore the fact that Mellie was still on the phone. She wondered what she would do if the situation were reversed, and Dawson wanted to live with Edison and his new girlfriend. She doubted she'd be reacting much differently than Mellie was. As much as she understood Mellie's aggressiveness, she disliked her for it.

"I don't want to be appealed to, Fitz. I get her apprehension. I really do. But I can't get away for lunch today and I won't be able to work while she's there." Fitz ran his hands up and down her arms protectively.

"Then tell her that. We will all have a sit down soon, the three of us. And we can talk then. Don't let her pressure you into doing something that you're not able to do easily."

Liv bit her lip, conflicted. Did she always have to do the right thing? Aside from the fact that she probably had meetings that day, she also didn't want to be in Mellie's company, especially alone.

"I'm just trying to make this transition smooth, If Mellie is happy she'll help make that happen quicker and without delay."

"She doesn't determine if we work. We do. She can make waves and make things harder, but if we know who we are together and what we want, she can't do anything more than that. Tell her no, alright? Pretend she's a client."

Liv grinned at Fitz in appreciation and straightened up into her tip-toes to kiss him. She pulled back and kissed his nose.

"Think we can schedule some adult time tonight?"

She whispered this against his lips, and felt the warmth spreading in her body, eager already at the prospect. Fitz's eyes glittered as he looked at Olivia in wonder, as if the world's secrets were between her legs. Liv blushed under his gaze and threw her arms around his neck, her lips tingling, yearning to be nibbled and kissed by him.

She practically pouted as she realized he hadn't answered her.

"Is that a yes?" She pressed.

Fitz bit her lower lip and kissed it in the next moment.

"Of course that's a yes. Tonight."

Liv broke away from Fitz after a lingering kiss and looked over at their children, who were still holding hands, but had shifted their attention.

Fitz turned back to the kids. "Come on, Ted, Dawson. Let's get your teeth brushed."

Olivia watched Fitz usher them out of the kitchen and up the stairs, Fitz holding their hands as they climbed.

"Mellie?" Liv asked into her phone, hoping that Mellie had hung up.

"Olivia." Mellie answered robotically, her voice without any real engagement.

"Sorry about that. But I think it would be best if we save this lunch for when you, Fitz and I can all sit down together. That's what's best. We will get more done that way."

"He's really good at it, isn't he?" Mellie finally asked Olivia, after a too-long pause, her voice wary.

"Good at what? What are you talking about?"

Liv felt the dread creep over her shoulder; Fitz had been spectacular in every way thus far, and though she knew that a little ex badmouthing was required of Mellie, she was afraid of what she would tell her.

"The talking. He's good at getting you on his agenda. He knows what to say to convince you that what you're doing is right."

Olivia sucked in a breath impatiently, switching the phone from her right ear to her left and took a step away from the dining room toward the stairs.

"Mellie, I know that you're upset with is happening. I know that you wish things were different between you and Fitz, but they aren't. I would appreciate it if we could behave like adults regarding this situation. Our children are involved, and if we can get through this with some of our dignity intact, that would be ideal."

Liv heard Mellie's silence loud and clear on the other end of the phone. She hadn't meant to be so patronizing toward Mellie; she almost felt like she was being unfair toward her, but she couldn't allow the feeling to take, so instead she stood by Fitz.

"Mellie," Liv started again, her tone softening, "We should all meet. That's what I honestly think is right. You and I need to work through this, but the right thing to do is wait for us three to get together."

Mellie cleared her throat into the phone; Liv waited for her to yell, say something rude, anything. Instead Mellie simply hung up the phone on Liv.

Irritated, Liv pulled the phone away from her face to check that Mellie had, in fact, done so. She had. Liv fought her blossoming aggravation and set off toward the stairs, jogging up them easily as streams of a sound she loved made its way to her ears; it was Dawson's laugh. She grinned immediately, almost feeling her sudden annoyance trickle away as she followed the high pitched, almost squeaky sound of her daughter's laugh, now turned shriek.

Liv made her way down the hallway toward her bedroom. The door was slightly ajar, and Liv peeked in before entering, and smiled wider at what she saw.

Fitz was holding Dawson high on his shoulders. She was trying to reach the ceiling which, despite Fitz's impressive height, was out of her reach by at least three feet. Teddy watched in amusement as Dawson seemed to be both overcome with excitement and struck with fear at the same time. But, it seemed her excitement won out overall and she continued to shriek as Fitz spun them around, Dawson's hands whirling in the air with each sudden spin. Liv bit her lip in wonder as she noticed Fitz's firm, protective grip on her daughter's calf. Warmth spread through her like she'd just been revived.

Liv pushed the door open and was slightly disappointed that they halted in their activities. Teddy hopped up eagerly and covered his mouth with his hands as if he was trying to keep himself from speaking. Fitz smiled and swiftly, with the expertise only a father could have, lowered Dawson down from his shoulders and down into his arms. He cradled her for only a moment before setting her on the chaise at the end of the bed.

"Sorry," Fitz apologized quickly. "We were kinda having a contest to see who could touch the ceiling and things got out of control. Teddy here, bet that Dawson couldn't touch the ceiling because she is too small…"

Dawson reacted normally to this pronouncement, but Liv could see the hurt behind her daughter's eyes; for some reason being called small had been getting to her lately. Liv wondered if Dawson had been truthful about the bully; maybe it wasn't an isolated incident like she claimed. Liv had to prod her more than she was used to for the truth about it, and she wasn't sure how everything was turning out. Dawson looked over at Liv, smiling suddenly as she realized Liv had been watching her.

"And…? The results? Did Teddy win out?"

Teddy pressed his hands tighter against his mouth. Liv grinned and walked to Dawson, holding out her arms and feeling her daughter dive into her, Liv hugged her tightly and looked to Fitz, who watched them, adoration in his eyes.

"Teddy, did not win out. He was close, but in the end, both of them are still too short."

Teddy dropped his hands dramatically and smiled a lazy, goofy grin, almost akin to the one that Fitz wore. Liv sat down, Dawson hanging off of her and held out her arm for Teddy, who dove in almost as quickly as Dawson had.

"Well," Liv mused, brushing Teddy's fly away chestnut brown hair from his face. "When you get taller, we'll have to have a rematch."

Teddy giggled wildly, almost embarrassed at Liv's affection and hugged her back quickly before bouncing out of her arms and dropping to the thick area carpet, rolling around like the ball of energy Liv had come to expect he was.

It was an adjustment to go from one child to two, but the personality differences between Dawson and Teddy were immeasurable; Dawson preferred quiet and activities she could do by herself without aid. The only time Teddy was quiet, however, was when he was peacefully asleep, one small thumb wedged in his cheek. Teddy liked to be watched and he enjoyed putting on shows. That week, he was particularly interested in Dawson's magic set- complete with dummy handcuffs and a cape. Liv craned her neck, wondering where Teddy had stashed the bright red cape; since he'd discovered it he had refused to take it off. Thank God Fitz, the smooth-talker- was able to get Teddy in and out of the cape without delay when needed.

"Mommy?"

Dawson asked, her eyes fixed on Teddy, who was now playing air guitar and lying flat on his back on the rug. Fitz leaned against the wall that held Liv's closet, watching the assembly and grinning.

"Yes, love-love?"

Dawson turned around in Liv's arms and buried her face in Liv's neck.

"I like hearing it."

Liv smiled, trying to figure out with Dawson meant, but her daughter answered before she'd had a chance to ask; Dawson placed a small hand on Liv's chest, right over her heart.

Without another word, Liv hugged her daughter to her and kissed the top of her head.

xxx

"Right. Yes and I'd like an order of cheesy bread as well, yup. I know the crust has cheese. Okay. Thank you. How long? Great, thanks."

Liv hung up her phone and leaned against the sink. Fitz was in the living room, entertaining Dawson and Teddy. It was nearly six-o'clock; Jerry and Karen were due any moment. Karen was driving them over, after cheerleading practice, Fitz had relayed.

She couldn't help but be nervous; from what she'd experienced of Jerry and Karen, they were pleasant, but she wouldn't know until they were all together, overnight. She hated that she was allowing herself to get nervous, for she rarely got genuinely nervous, but this was a clear exception to the rule.

"Fitz!"

Liv shouted, hearing Fitz responding automatically. She watched him emerge through the door, a worried expression.

"Yes?"

He asked, noticing how she was clutching the granite countertop.

"Are you alright?"

Liv shook her head, Fitz was at her side in a flash, pulling her into his arms securely.

"Please, don't worry about Jerry and Karen. They're great kids. And you'll be great with them."

Liv sighed in frustration.

"No. No, no, no, no. Don't tell me it's going to be okay! Don't console me. Stop being so damn understanding and thoughtful. I don't want you to know what to say. Just hold me, please!"

Liv felt the words slipping from her mouth so quickly that she couldn't catch them and shove them back in. She was worried that Fitz would be angry with her, but thankfully, he only continued to hug her, rubbing the dip in her back tenderly.

"I'm sorry for being… understanding, thoughtful and quick on my feet?"

Liv rolled her eyes, thankful that Fitz couldn't see.

"I'm just freaking out, that's all. And I don't want you to put a Band-Aid on it. I just want you to be here with me."

"You're freaking out? Liv… if it's that bad we don't have to do this right now."

Liv jabbed his side quickly but with no real power behind it; she just wanted him to know that she was irritated, overwhelmed, whatever.

"I am freaking out. But only a little bit. I'm just worried that your kids will hate me. Teddy and I have an understanding, and a connection. But it took a while to get there. And he's six. He has no animosity in his heart for me, that's why he can love me and not know that he's supposed to hate me."

Fitz pulled away from Liv to see her worried, large eyes peering up at him.

" _Hate_ you? You think Jerry or Karen will _hate_ you? Really?"

Liv shrugged and pulled the falling shoulder of her sweater back up.

"I'm just trying to imagine how I would be in this situation. Mellie must have made her feelings clear on our relationship. And how do you think they must feel, having been told about us at that family dinner? They have no say in our relationship, you didn't ask them, even though they're old enough to consult or at least have a preemptive discussion with. They must hate me on that alone. I'm just some person they're expected to like and get along with now."

Fitz raised an eyebrow at Liv, who had all but descended into hysterics. He gripped Liv's shoulders and smiled at her. Liv stared at him seriously for a moment but cracked a smile after a while.

"I love you. _I'm in love with you_. You are not just some person. My kids know that. They know that I don't date for the hell of it, and they know that you are anything but ordinary. You're the love of my life, and whatever other mistakes I've made, I did not make the mistake of leaving my kids out of that knowledge. They know about you. They know what you mean to me. Maybe they don't love you yet. But they will after they get to know you."

Liv tried not to smile as Fitz spoke to her with such conviction that she had no leg to stand on; her largest concern was that Jerry and Karen didn't know the depth of their relationship; she didn't want to be a trophy girlfriend for Fitz, and she didn't want them to see her that way. She was glad that Fitz had saw to it that they wouldn't.

"I love you more."

Liv finally replied, rocking up to just meet Fitz's lips, his head was bent slightly so that she didn't have as far to go. Fitz allotted her the kiss that she'd been waiting for, and pulled away abruptly, just as Liv had started to put in work.

"Did you just challenge my 'I love you'? You do know that that is very rude."

Liv giggled and moved her arms to cradle his neck.

"I did. What are you going to do about it?"

Fitz didn't answer, but instead, he lifted her into his arms, but Liv suppressed her surprise, determined to remain cool in the face of Fitz's hot handling of her.

Fitz set her on the countertop and kissed her forehead first, trailing kisses over her high cheekbones, her nose, her temple, and finally, after bypassing them twice, lowered himself onto her lips, caressing them with his own.

Liv found their rhythm, it was sexy and slow, almost lazy as Liv dragged her lips against his, gripping his curls at the base of his neck, and pulling Fitz in closer, her legs wrapping around him, welding him to her.

Distantly, Liv heard the doorbell ring, but she almost ignored it, feeling her center warming as Fitz slipped his hand between her legs, not rubbing, but just waiting, building up the tension.

"That's the pizza I ordered,"

Liv muttered in between lazy, sloppy kisses.

"Is it?"

Fitz inquired, his hand moving further into the crook of her thighs.

"Yes,"

Liv replied, not fully moving from out of his mouth, but he silenced her again, slipping his tongue into her mouth again, turning the sweet, unlabored kisses into a frenzy. Liv nearly fainted as Fitz finally made contact with the front of her bundle, his hand nudged the thick fabric of the joggers she'd changed into after work. Liv had never wished to be wearing a skirt more. Or nothing. Nothing worked too.

"Dad?"

Fitz jerked from kissing Liv so hard that Liv was left in midair, but she noticed Karen standing in the doorway of the kitchen, Jerry in tow.

"Jerry, Karen,"

Fitz welcomed, his voice automatically melting in a loving way. He hoped they would shake the awkwardness of walking in on them in the pre-stages of having sex. However, Karen- still wearing her practice clothes: elastic waistband short shorts and a 'McKinley Academy' sweatshirt- looked beyond uncomfortable. Jerry ushered them completely through the door.

"Dad. Hey,"

Fitz left Liv, who was still sitting on the counter, mortified. How had she not predicted that this would occur? She watched this sort of thing occur on TV at least twice a week.

Jerry and Fitz hugged quickly, and Fitz pulled Karen into a hug- half-hearted on her end.

"Sorry about that, guys. How'd you get in?"

"The front door was open. Dawson and Teddy are watching _Frozen_."

Karen answered, crossing her arms disapprovingly.

"They are too little to be left alone, you know." She added, albeit in a smaller voice.

The silence that fell over them was tangibly tragic, but Jerry broke it, turning to Liv after more than a few beats passed. Liv shimmied down from the counter in time for Jerry to hug her briefly, but sweetly.

"Sorry, Olivia. I didn't mean to not speak to you." Liv waved a hand dismissively, thankful for his kindness.

"Please, call me Liv."

Jerry nodded and stepped back toward his father. Karen met Liv's eyes a moment later, as Fitz corralled Jerry into getting plates and napkins from the pantry to set the table.

"How was practice?"

Liv asked, trying to make conversation as they stood there, hearing the ending notes to a musical number in _Frozen._

"Why?"

Karen countered, raising an eyebrow critically, narrowing her father's crisp blue eyes at Liv. Liv hadn't expected a warm reception, but the Karen that she'd met at the family dinner was not the Karen who stood in front of her, full of anger and resentment. But, quite frankly Karen's automatic attitude seemed off, like she wasn't committing to it fully, but Liv would never call her out on it. Her nervousness was gone; she was mortified at being walked in on, but only barely.

"We've got plates! We got cups! And napkins! Now we just need-"

The doorbell rang suddenly, and Liv laughed at Fitz's overexcited reaction, jumping up and down gleefully, leaving Jerry to watch him somewhat admiringly.

"Pizza! Honestly… I really didn't plan that."

Fitz finished, as he and Jerry set the supplies down in the middle of the table.

"Will you please get the kids to wash their hands, Karen? While we get the table ready."

Karen nodded at her father stiffly and went through the door and back into the living room.

"Don't pay her any mind,"

Jerry commented, seeing Liv's face and guessing that Karen was the reason for her irritation.

"I don't,"

He added, grinning and placing a plate on the placemat.

Liv grinned at Jerry, thankful for his assertion, but unsure if Karen would allow her actions to go unnoticed. And, as Liv watched Karen lead Teddy and Dawson past the kitchen and toward the bathroom, she was almost sure that Karen would do anything she had to do to make her feelings clear.

xxx

 **A/N: Thanks for sticking with me through these infrequent updates! I'm really trying to write more these days, but it's slow-going. Anyway, back to the chapter! So we got some cute-ass sexiness from Mr. Fitzgerald Grant. Not only is this man twirling Dawson on his shoulders, but he's such a dork (Fun Fitz is fun to write!) Also, on a more serious note, we had some Mellie and Olivia time (on the phone, thank goodness) but we still got to see how much tension there is in the situation, and how haphazardly all three of them are handling it. We didn't get any Edison this chapter, which is great, because next chapter is the building up to the custody hearing (it's gonna be an Edison heavy chapter, so brace yourselves.)**

 **We also have some bitchy Karen (who called it?) But of course Karen is going to raise some hell the next few chapters (as if Liv doesn't have enough on her plate) but never fear, Jerry is here to provide a much needed buffer, although the elder Grant does have some stuff with him as well, which will be addressed (but not right away!)**

 **Next chapter we will get some Edison (I repeat A LOT OF EDISON!) Also, we're going to have some of step-mom Liv (fun, trust me!) And we will get some Eli and Jacqueline. Looking forward to writing their dynamic, as well as Fitz and Liv's FIRST TIME TOGETHER! Yes. Next chapter. I promise (cause they were 'bout to get busy on that counter. The sexual tension is crazzatical) so yes. Next chapter is going to be full of crazy stuff!**

 **Thanks for reading, as always!**

 **xoxo,**

 **Avis**


End file.
